Nerves along spine are regenerated
Scientists have encouraged sensory neurons to regrow in and work over large distances in rats with a specific protein. This would help rats with a spinal cord injury. The study was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Scientists from the Tufts University School of Medicine have treated rats with crushed spines by treating the breakage of a certain protein.
“This is a significantly longer length of Central Nervous System regeneration than has been reported earlier,” Eric Frank, one of the authors of the study, told Science Alert. “But there’s still a long way to go!” The damaged nerve fibers were able to grow 4 centimeters. After four weeks of treatment, the new neurons were capable of passing signals throughout the whole length.
