In a recent medical study, Stanford researchers say a new stem cell experiment is transforming the lives of stroke patients.
The use of stem cells is allowing patients with little hope for recovery to suddenly talk and walk again, according to the study published in the Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases.
“We did not expect to see significant recovery,” said Dr. Gary Steinberg, chief of neurosurgery at Stanford University School of Medicine. “We were quite startled by the remarkable recovery some of the patients showed.”
Steinberg and a team of researchers released the study on Thursday.
Researchers did not anticipate seeing results this early in the process. The test was meant to be an initial phase in the study, and only included 18 patients of varying ages and who had strokes at least six months before.
The study included now 36-year-old Sonia Coontz of Long Beach. She had a stroke at 31, and two years later when she participated, could barely move her arm.