The Hindu News Update Service News Update Service Friday, November 7, 2008 : 1040 Hrs
Health Optic nerves can be made to 'regrow' Ian Sample London (GUARDIAN NEWS SERVICE): Scientists have found a way to regrow damaged optic nerves, raising hopes for people who have been left blind or partially sighted by injuries to the cells. The technique, developed by a team under Zhigang He at Children's hospital in Boston, prompts severed nerves to repair themselves within weeks. The procedure is being tested on spinal cord injuries. The work, published in the journal Science, represents a step towards new therapies. Unlike nerves in limbs, nerves in the brain and spinal cord are blocked from regrowing by chemicals in the body, preventing them rewiring wrong. Scientists showed it was possible to regenerate damaged optical nerves in mice by knocking out proteins that prevent nerve growth. Two weeks after their optic nerves were damaged half the nerves survived in mice given the treatment, against 20% in those which had not; and 10% of the treated mice showed significant regrowth. The technique knocks out two genes, called PTEN and TSC1, which give rise to proteins that block nerve growth. In the future scientists believe it will be possible to develop drugs that mimic the effect. In the same journal a second team from the US biotech company Genentech reports similar experiments that prompted the regrowth of nerve cells in petri dishes. Both studies looked at nerve fibres called axons, which carry electrical signals around the body. To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
