As the first case of its kind in China, the experiment was directed by Liang Peng, a neurosurgeon in the No. 1 Hospital attached to Harbin Medical Sciences University.

　　The mouse lost the function of its back legs and could not urinate after scientists cut the nerve between its eighth and ninth vertebra.

　　Three months after the stem cells were implanted, the mouse's hind legs began to move and to support its body, and four months later the mouse could move and urinate.

　　Nerve stem cells can live in the body without obvious rejection,and can control and repair the injured parts, according to the experts.

　　The cells, separated from the human embryo, had been cultivatedfor nine months, the longest time for similar cases.

　　There is hope that in the near future patients suffering from paralysis due to nerve severance will be able to stand again afterstem cell implantation, says Liu Enchong, a neurosurgeon.