Nerve connections regenerated after spinal cord injuryRSS Feed

A major breakthrough in the treatment of spinal cord injury has been achieved after scientists in the US reported that they have successfully achieved "robust regeneration" of nerve tissue.

The team from Harvard University and University of California, Irvine found that by turning off a biological regulator in mice, nerve tissue was able to regenerate.

A protein, the enzyme PTEN which inhibits cell growth in adults, was deleted, allowing the nerve cells to grow back.

Professor Oswald Steward, the study's lead author, said that such effective nerve regeneration has not been possible in the past.

"Paralysis and loss of function from spinal cord injury has been considered untreatable, but our discovery points the way toward a potential therapy to induce regeneration of nerve connections following spinal cord injury in people," he explained.

The news comes as spinal injury research appears to be gathering momentum, after US authorities granted approval for the first human clinical trials of human embryonic stem cell-based treatments.

News from Serious Law, specialist spinal injury compensation solicitors

Posted by John Sherrington
 

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