Study finds possible treatment for spinal injuryRSS Feed

27 October 2009

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston report that an enzyme known as Mst3b could be used in treating stroke, spinal cord damage and traumatic brain injury.

The enzyme, previously identified in their lab, was found to be essential for regenerating damaged axons (nerve fibres) in a live animal model, in both the peripheral and central nervous systems.

Working with live rats whose optic nerve was damaged (a common model of central-nervous-system injury), study leaders Nina Irwin, Larry Benowitz and colleagues show that in the absence of Mst3b, axons show very little regeneration, even in the presence of factors known to enhance axon growth.

In cell cultures, axon growth increased when activated Mst3b was expressed in the neurons.

Mr Benowitz said: "Activating Mst3b by itself is enough to cause growth even if there are no growth factors around. In terms of basic understanding of nerve cells, this is a very exciting finding."

According to the Children's Hospital Boston, spinal cord injuries (SCI) are due to a traumatic injury, which results in a bruise (contusion), or a partial tear or a complete tear (transection) in the spinal cord.

Because the spinal cord is a bundle of nerves that carries messages between the brain and the rest of the body, SCI is a common cause of permanent disability and death in children.

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