Queensland researchers are about to start a set of clinical trials that could be a huge help for victims of stroke and brain injury.

Queensland's Griffith University has received approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration to start tests of the drug Etenarcept, normally used to treat conditions like rheumatoid arthritis.

The TGA approval has come through, the university needs more funding.

Toowoomba mum Coralie Graham has been pivotal in pushing the Australian trials ahead, after taking her son Joel to the US to receive the treatment last year.

Joel suffered a brain injury when he was just three years old which has left him in a wheelchair for over 20 years.

Ms Graham said for years she had believed that there there was no hope her son would be rehabilitated.

“Joel did plateau and didn't really make a whole lot of gains from that time,” she said in a recent interview for the ABC.

“I was just told that was it - this is your lot in life, get used to it.”

But after Joel’s trip to the States, the results have been spectacular.

“He got his cough reflex back, he was able to swallow, he has reduced seizures, he is able to mobilise and walk short distances by himself,” Ms Graham said.

“He sat there and put his sandals on for the first time in 23 years.”

But there are still some big hurdles to clear before the trails happen, and the biggest one is money.

Ms Graham has reached a quarter of the $200,000 target through the Stroke Fund Recovery Trial. 

It is enough to start the first phase of trials, which will begin next month.

Once those results are in, the research time says it may look for federal research funding to keep the ball rolling.

The Stroke Fund Recovery Trial organisation put together the following film on Joel’s trip to the US.