Searching the entire genome, a Yale research team has identified a gene that when eliminated can spur regeneration of axons in nerve cells severed by spinal cord injury. “For the first time, the limits on nerve fiber regeneration were studied in an unbiased way across nearly all genes,” said Stephen...
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UCLA researchers find a way to repair nerve damage with stem cells
UCLA researchers have developed a way to use stem cells to help potentially rebuild damaged spinal cords. In a study published in January, researchers in the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research established a way to derive sensory interneurons, which are cells involved...
Closed-loop neuromodulation restores network connectivity and motor control after spinal cord injury
Abstract: Recovery from serious neurological injury requires substantial rewiring of neural circuits. Precisely-timed electrical stimulation could be used to restore corrective feedback mechanisms and promote adaptive plasticity after neurological insult, such as spinal cord injury (SCI) or stroke. This study provides the first evidence that closed-loop vagus nerve stimulation (CLV)...
Restorative effects of human neural stem cell grafts on the primate spinal cord
We grafted human spinal cord–derived neural progenitor cells (NPCs) into sites of cervical spinal cord injury in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Under three-drug immunosuppression, grafts survived at least 9 months postinjury and expressed both neuronal and glial markers. Monkey axons regenerated into grafts and formed synapses. Hundreds of thousands of...