A first-of-its-kind cell treatment is helping one Polish man walk again.
Darek Fidyka, 40, who was paralyzed from the chest down after a knife attack in 2010, is now able to walk again with the help of a supportive frame, according to the BBC. Scientists in London and doctors in Poland were able to use cells associated with smell (in the olfactory bulbs) and implanted them into Fidyka's spine to create a steady bridge.
"When the feeling begins to come back — it is like you are born again," Fidyka told CBS News.
In the video above from Newsy, professor Geoff Raisman of University College London's Institute of Neurology said the research was groundbreaking, and was "more impressive than the man walking on the moon."
The BBC adds the olfactory ensheathing cells that were used for Fidyka's surgery acted as pathway cells to allow fibres around the injury to reconnect.
Watch the video above to find out exactly how doctors repaired his spine.
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