Study provides an early recipe for rewiring spinal cords

(NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) For many years, researchers have thought that the scar that forms after a spinal cord injury actively prevents damaged neurons from regrowing. In a study of rodents, scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health showed they could overcome this barrier and reconnect severed spinal cord nerves by turning back the neurons' clocks to put them into an early growth state. Once this occurs, neurons could be induced to regrow across the scarred tissue.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news