Gene discovery to give hope to spinal cord injury patients?RSS Feed

A large number of genes able to repair nerves after spinal cord injury and stroke have been discovered by scientists.

Research published in journal Neuron identified more than 70 genes that play a role in regenerating nerves after injury.

These 70 genes promote axon growth after injury, while six more were discovered to repress the re-growth of axons.

Andrew Chisholm, of the University of California San Diego, said: "We don't know much about how axons re-grow after they're damaged."

"When you have an injury to your spinal cord or you have a stroke you cause a lot of damage to your axons. And in your brain or spinal cord, regeneration is very inefficient. That's why spinal cord injuries are basically untreatable."

This follows a paper in journal PLoS One which uncovered a new class of stem cells in the spinal cord that could prove useful in repairing spinal cord injury.

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Posted by Paul Breen
 

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