Be careful to read the limitations, but this might be promising

Possible promise: stem cells and stroke recovery.

I ran across an article showing some "stunned" researchers. As the story mentions, it's a small number of people in a single study, but it might show some direction for future, larger research projects.

So read - and especially the caveats - how Stanford researchers "stunned" by stem cell experiment that helped stroke patient walk:

The one-time therapy involved surgeons drilling a hole into the study participants' skulls and injecting stem cells in several locations around the area damaged by the stroke. These stem cells were harvested from the bone marrow of adult donors. While the procedure sounds dramatic, it is considered relatively simple as far as brain surgery goes. The patients were conscious the whole time and went home the same day.

Stem cell story worth reading

Whenever I see "stem cells," I put up my skepticism shield. There's been a lot of hyperbole out there about stem cells.

However, this recent story shows a small light of good news without overselling. It's how stem cells helped some stroke patients recover:

All the patients saw some improvement in weakness or paralysis within six months of their procedures. Although three people developed complications related to the surgery, they all recovered. There were no adverse reactions to the transplanted stem cells themselves, the study authors said.

What's more, the researchers said, two patients experienced dramatic recoveries almost immediately after the treatments. ...

"It's a small, early human study. It takes multiple steps to get to something clinically useful, and this is a nice, early step," said Dr. Steven Cramer, clinical director of the Stem Cell Research Center at the University of California, Irvine.

Again, as the researcher says, it's a small study. Still, worth watching.