The Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan, a part of Wayne State University, has announced plans to apply to the Food and Drug Administration to begin clinical trials of a medical procedure designed to regenerate damaged tissue around the spinal cord. The procedure, developed by Dr. Carlos Lima, a physician known in the international medical community for his work with paralyzed patients, involves packing the patient's own stem cells around the damaged cells. Following the surgery, patients may gradually experience less pain and regain some use of paralyzed limbs.