Mohir
In the long run, the optimal strategy for treating spinal injuries may involve a combination of therapies that restore neurons’ ability to grow axons and ones that counteract inhibitory signals near the injury. “You want to do each, and you may need to do both,”
blogs.discovermagazine.com
Injury to nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, once considered permanent, may be reversible after all. A pair of new studies demonstrate how to override two biological mechanisms that prevent damaged cells of the central nervous system from regrowing. The first obstacle are genes that prevent nerve growth and the second are chemical signals that repress nerve growth.
Harvard researchers identified a gene, PETN, that inhibits the major growth pathway in nerve cells. They created genetically modified “knock-out” mice that lacked the gene.
in mice lacking PTEN, 50% of neurons survived and about 10% of axons in the optic nerve regrew—as far as 4 millimeters in 28 days .
Scientists believe the body makes regeneration of central nervous system cells especially difficult in order to prevent faulty reconnections. Although the new studies were conducted in mice and cell cultures, similar mechanisms likely operate in humans.
Tags: science, nerve cells, medicine, biology
Injury to nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, once considered permanent, may be reversible after all. A pair of new studies demonstrate how to override two biological mechanisms that prevent damaged cells of the central nervous system from regrowing. The first obstacle are genes that prevent nerve growth and the second are chemical signals that repress nerve growth.
Harvard researchers identified a gene, PETN, that inhibits the major growth pathway in nerve cells. They created genetically modified “knock-out” mice that lacked the gene.
in mice lacking PTEN, 50% of neurons survived and about 10% of axons in the optic nerve regrew—as far as 4 millimeters in 28 days .
Scientists believe the body makes regeneration of central nervous system cells especially difficult in order to prevent faulty reconnections. Although the new studies were conducted in mice and cell cultures, similar mechanisms likely operate in humans.
Tags: science, nerve cells, medicine, biology
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