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Posted on Oct 11, 2002, 6 a.m.
By Bill Freeman
Researchers have managed to regrow severed nerves by treating them with a signaling molecule known as cyclic AMP (cAMP). While the findings show that severed nerves can regrow, the results are not as straightforward as they may seem as the study was conducted on rats and the animals were treated with cAMP before their nerves were severed - something that is clearly impossible in an already injured patient.
Researchers have managed to regrow severed nerves by treating them with a signaling molecule known as cyclic AMP (cAMP). While the findings show that severed nerves can regrow, the results are not as straightforward as they may seem as the study was conducted on rats and the animals were treated with cAMP before their nerves were severed - something that is clearly impossible in an already injured patient. The team are now planning further studies to determine whether treatment with cAMP after injury is as successful, if so the findings could lead to new treatments for people with spinal cord injuries.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Neuron 2002; 34:885-893, 895-903
