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Posted on Nov 04, 2009, 6 a.m.
Studying an animal model of spinal cord injury, UCSD researchers report successful regeneration of nerve cells even when treatment is delayed.
With more than 10,000 new spinal cord injuries (SCI) occurring annually in the United States, scientists such as Mark H. Tuszynski, from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine (USA), have been exploring ways to regenerate the spinal cord nerves. In an animal model of SCI, the researchers were able to successfully regenerate adult spinal cord axons into and beyond an injury site in the cervical spinal cord. Treatment was begun at time periods ranging from 6 weeks to 15 months after the original injury occurred, suggesting for the first time that “regeneration is achievable at unprecedented postinjury time points.”
Ken Kadoya, Shingo Tsukada, Paul Lu, Giovanni Coppola, Dan Geschwind, Marie T. Filbin, Armin Blesch, Mark H. Tuszynski. “Combined Intrinsic and Extrinsic Neuronal Mechanisms Facilitate Bridging Axonal Regeneration One Year after Spinal Cord Injury.” Neuron, Volume 64, Issue 2, 165-172, 29 October 2009; doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2009.09.016.
