University College London professor Geoffrey Raisman transplanted cells from a quadriplegic man’s nose into his spinal cord, enabling him to walk (with assistance) for the first time in 4 years. The paper describing the transplant was published in Cell Transplantation this week.

In 1969, Professor Raisman discovered that damaged nerve cells can form new connections. In 1985, he identified a type of nose cell, called an olfactory ensheathing cell, that allows nerve fibers to regenerate into the brain.

In the first of two operations, the surgeons removed one of the patient’s olfactory bulbs from high in his nose, and grew the OECs in culture. Two weeks later, using 100 micro-injections on each side of the site, they transplanted the cultured OECs into his severed spinal cord, using a strip of nerves from his ankle to bridge the gap.

The OECs were used to spur the spinal nerve fibers to regrow across the gap, using the ankle nerve grafts as a bridge.