http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3608346&thesection=news&;
thesubsection=world
Australian breakthrough in spinal nerve regrowth
09.11.2004
Australian researchers have discovered how to regrow spinal cord nerves,
enabling mice to walk within weeks of their cord being damaged. The University
of
Melbourne team says its findings are a major step forward in finding ways to
mend spinal cord injuries in humans. They found that removing the molecule
known as EphA4 resulted in significant regrowth of the spinal nerves following
injury. Mice without EphA4 regained their full stride length within three weeks
of injury and within a month had regained ankle and toe movement. Their ability
to bear weight on the affected limbs and to walk and climb also continued to
improve for at least three months after injury. Professor Mary Galea from the
School of Physiotherapy said it would be some time before human tests could be
conducted. But she said the breakthrough was the most promising in the area
of spinal cord injury in years. Professor Galea said there was now scope for
developing a drug that could block EphA4 in humans and stop a scar from forming
on the spinal cord in the first place. She said it was likely new drugs would
be tested on primates before humans. Professor Galea expected it to be between
five and 10 years before human trials went ahead.
http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/health/ny-hsstem154043000nov15,0,3286134.story?coll=ny-health-print
A step closer to understanding
Scientists hope success in mice study can be used as a model of cells'
potential in fighting brain diseases
BY JAMIE TALAN
STAFF WRITER
November 15, 2004
Recently, Harvard scientists discovered that, at least in mice, the brain can
rally against an all-out attack on brain cells by summoning stem cells to
help repopulate the hard-hit region.
Now the researchers want to determine whether similar stem cell activity can
be orchestrated in diseases like ALS or Parkinson's, in which a specific group
of brain cells dies off. Such a finding would lead toward an understanding of
how to achieve similar results in the human brain, said Jeffrey Macklis,
director of the Massachusetts General Hospital-Harvard Medical School Center
for
Nervous System Repair.
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