Interview with Dr. Valentin Fulga Holley had what we call a complete spinal cord injury. She had been diagnosed by her neurosurgeon in Grand Junction, Colorado, and her father approached us. She had no sensation and motor function below the level of injury. It was a little higher than the waist, from the middle of the back down, no feeling sensation or movement. We take the patient's own cells and we use them.
Macrophages are white blood cells and they exist everywhere in the body.
We have them in the lungs, in the liver, of course in the blood, and also in the central nervous system and also in the peripheral nervous system. The central nervous system is the brain, the spinal cord, and the optic nerves. The peripheral is all the rest of the nerves in the body. Melissa Holley was a perfect candidate for this study. She met all of the criteria.