Researchers Splice Severed Spinal Cords
...irst timerestored electrical nerve impulses in the severed spinal cord of a mammal. The scientists conduc...egion of theguinea pig's spinal cord that had been severed but gently pressed back together.PEG was applied for two minutes, then removed. The polymer "fused" ......ccess in animalswith a promising new way to rejoin severed nerves quickly. "The technique rejoins the cut or crushed ends of severed central andperipheral nerve cells so that the repaired cells again conduct electricalsignals through...New Technique Induces Growth Across Spinal Cord Injury
...MGH) have for the first time induced the growth of severed adult mammalianspinal cord fibers across the site ...he use of implanted cells or tissues to bridge the severed fibers. In addition,the findings call into question current assumptions about barriers to spinalcord...Chemist Percy Julian captures spirit of black history celebration scientist
...e-fingered hand - the two missing fingers had been severed as punishment for learning to read. Julian worked his way through DePauw by digging ditches and waiting tables at a fraternity and in 1920, he graduated at the top of his class with a Phi Beta Kappa key. Eager to earn an advanced degree, his profe...Post-transplant nerve regrowth better with young hearts, quick surgery
...f coronary blockage. Sympathetic nerve fibers are severed during heart transplant surgery. Reinnervation takes time, so it is more frequently observed months or years after surgery. Reinnervation often is partial, but some patients experience no regrowth, explains lead author, Frank M. Bengel, M.D., an as...More hand transplants to be performed, predict experts at international congress
...ation would benefit patients whose limbs have been severed or amputated or who require reconstructive surgery due to tumor resections or congenital deformities....Tiny nerves from the ribs may restore leg movement in spinal cord injury
...f studies challenging the conventional wisdom that severed nerves in the spinal cord are nearly impossible to... nerves from the rib cage as cables connecting the severed spinal cord, we were able to get some improvement in leg function," Lin said. "Regeneration is consi...American Academy of Neurology sums up scientific highlights from 56th Annual Meeting
... implant can act as a scaffold for the regrowth of severed nerves. The implant can be seeded with cells and growth factors to encourage nerve regrowth. It slowly breaks down as it is replaced by normal tissue. [S66.006] Researchers from Germany demonstrated the medical potential of stem cells derived from ad...Replicating an eel's nerve circuitry may aid paralyzed people
...d injuries, other researchers are trying to regrow severed nerves or directly stimulate the muscles in paralyzed limbs. Etienne-Cummings and Cohen are pursuing a different but possibly complementary approach. They believe that even when the central pattern generators that guide movement from the lower back a...More precise radiation therapy lets prostate cancer patients avoid erectile dysfunction
..., the nerves that control erectile function may be severed which has led to new surgical techniques to avoid cutting those nerves. But doctors are less sure what causes erectile dysfunction after radiation therapy. Erectile dysfunction among men without prostate cancer is most commonly caused by a problem ......causes loss of sensation. "When a nerve fibre is severed it attempts to regrow, like the sprouts arising from the trunk of a felled tree," says Professor Raisman, explaining the technique that his team have discovered. Their failure to do this is not due to an intrinsic inability of nerve fibres to grow, ...