Natural Recovery Follows Spinal Cord Injury

Unexpected and extensive natural recovery after spinal cord injuries in monkeys have led scientists to believe that new treatments for patients with spinal cord injuries may become possible one day.

Researchers at the University of California studied adult rhesus monkeys and found that that connections between circuits in the spinal cord re-grew spontaneously and extensively, restoring fully 60 percent of the connections 24 weeks after a mild spinal cord injury.

Head Injury | Brain Injury Overview Types Causes Symptoms Diagnosis Treatment
Head injury or traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of disability among children and young adults that leads to varying degrees of physical and mental stability. Fortunately, it is also one of the preventable brain disorder.

"The number of connections in spinal cord circuits drops by 80 percent immediately after the injury," said Ephron Rosenzweig of the University of California.

"But new growth sprouting from spared axons - the long fibers extending from the brain cells, or neurons, which carry signals to other neurons in the central nervous system - restored more than half of the original number of connections," said Rosenzweig

More profoundly, the spontaneous recovery was accompanied by extensive recovery of movement on the affected side of the body.

About Kyphosis
Kyphosis is a spinal disorder, which is derived from Greek word – 'kyphos' which means bowed or bent. Spinal curve of the backbone in the upper back causes bowing of the backbone. It also affects the lower back.

Mark H. Tuszynski, neurologist at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Health System, said the team is now investigating how the nervous system is able to generate so much natural growth after injury.

This knowledge could lead to development of drugs or genes that could transmit high-growth signals to spinal cord damage sites after more severe spinal cord injury.

Scientists Coax Nerve Fibers to Regrow After Spinal Cord Injury
In tests on rats, researchers at Johns Hopkins and the University of Michigan have developed a treatment that helps spinal cord nerves regrow after injury.

The findings were published in the online edition of Nature Neuroscience.

Source-ANI

Regeneration After Spinal Cord Injury
More than 250,000 people in the U.S. are suffering from long-term spinal cord injuries, with more than 11,000 new occurrences taking place each year