Star-Ledger Staff
Very soon, perhaps in a few days or weeks, someone in the United States will injure his or her spinal cord and become paralyzed. They may crash their car, slip on ice or fall at a job site.
One of these newly injured people may be transported to Newark for an experimental treatment that is invigorating the search for a paralysis cure.
University Hospital is one of three sites nationally that is testing specially treated immune cells -- called macrophages -- that are injected into the spinal cord. The treatment may not help patients walk, but they may be able to regain sensations or recover some movement.
Proponents want to open new avenues of research, and counter thinking that the spinal cord can never be repaired.
"This is the first....