Q: My 20 years old wife had an accident recently in which her spinal cord got injured. Her L3 and L4 bones broke and due to this she has lost her senses from the waist part to both the legs including urine control. The doctor said that there is no hope and only a miracle can save her from paralysis. Is there any treatment for such injuries? I have heard about stem cell therapy. Is it effective? Should I approach this therapy?

A:Till today there is no definitive scientific data of stem cell therapy for spinal cord injury and neuronal regeneration in human. A few anecdotal case reports in newspapers are the only evidence. Animal data regarding this therapy are there and in future it may become a mode of therapy but at present without hard data regarding efficacy/ safety of stem cells therapy, we do not recommend anyone about this form of therapy out of study protocol.