Sodium link to spinal cord tissue re-growthRSS Feed

Sodium plays a key role in regenerating nerves and muscle tissue following a spinal cord injury, it has been discovered.

Scientists at Tufts University's School of Arts and Sciences have found a way to regenerate an injured spinal cord by using drugs that trigger sodium ions to enter injured cells.

Appearing in the Journal of Neuroscience, the research found that a localised increase in sodium ions was needed for tadpoles to regenerate their tails, which contain spinal cord tissue.

"Artificially causing an influx of sodium for just one hour can overcome a variety of problems, such as the decline in regenerative ability that comes with age and the effect of regeneration-blocking drugs," commented professor of biology at Tufts Michael Levin.

He added that the effective treatment window for spinal cord injury patients has been widened by the findings.

Recent research from Harvard University and University of California, Irvine found that turning off the enzyme PTEN in mice allowed nerve tissue to regenerate.

News from Serious Law, specialist spinal injury compensation solicitors

Posted by Matthew Heap

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