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Scientists bridge' spinal injury nerve gap
Cleveland Plain Dealer ^ | 8-12-06 | John Mangels

Posted on 07/12/2006 4:59:21 AM PDT by Right Wing Assault

Like linemen stringing an electric cable over a gorge, a research team co-directed by a Cleveland scientist has devised a way to coax nerve fibers to grow a "bridge" across gaps in rats' damaged spinal cords.

The new technique, reported today in the Journal of Neuroscience, successfully re-established some neural connections and restored a "considerable" amount of movement in five of seven partially paralyzed rats, according to the researchers.

After treatment, animals that had been dragging their forelimbs were able to plant their front feet, bear weight and bend their arms to touch their faces.

"I think it's a real milestone," said Case Western Reserve University neuroscientist Jerry Silver, who co-authored the study with neuroscientist John Houle of Philadelphia's Drexel University. "It's not walking and it's not running. But it's a start. It clearly shows [nerve] regeneration can occur, and it can be functional."

"With this system we've just touched the surface of what we're going to be able to do," Houle said.

Silver and Houle intend to launch testing in several months to determine whether the technique works in monkeys, whose central nervous systems are more similar to humans' in size and complexity. If that work is successful, human research could follow in several years.

(Excerpt) Read more at cleveland.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; US: Ohio
KEYWORDS: cwru; drexel; medical; medicine; neuroscience; paralysis; spinal; spine
Oh, those poor rats! PETA should throw a tantrum.

Here's a graphic of the procedure:

http://www.cleveland.com/news/wide/index.ssf?/news/wide/spinal0712.html

1 posted on 07/12/2006 4:59:28 AM PDT by Right Wing Assault
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To: Right Wing Assault

http://www.cleveland.com/news/wide/index.ssf?/news/wide/spinal0712.html


2 posted on 07/12/2006 5:01:04 AM PDT by Right Wing Assault ("..this administration is planning a 'Right Wing Assault' on values and ideals.." - John Kerry)
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To: Right Wing Assault
and bend their arms to touch their faces.

Rats have arms?

3 posted on 07/12/2006 5:03:21 AM PDT by Graybeard58 (Remember and pray for Sgt. Matt Maupin - MIA/POW- Iraq since 04/09/04)
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To: Right Wing Assault

amazing.. for all those people with injuries...


4 posted on 07/12/2006 5:03:43 AM PDT by Irishguy (How do ya LIKE THOSE APPLES!!!!)
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To: Right Wing Assault
I don't want to hijack the thread, but notice that this is using your own body to repair itself, with a little help, not EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS.
5 posted on 07/12/2006 5:29:49 AM PDT by georgiagirl_pam
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To: Right Wing Assault

I am SO proud of my alma mater (CWRU). When I was an undergrad at the engineering school soooooooooo long ago, the biomedical engineering department had just taken its baby steps on restoring use of limbs to paralyzed patients.

I hope this breakthrough can help a lot of people.


6 posted on 07/12/2006 5:30:21 AM PDT by USArmySpouse
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To: USArmySpouse
When I was an undergrad at the engineering school soooooooooo long ago

So, you had Edison and Tesla for roomates?.........

7 posted on 07/12/2006 5:34:36 AM PDT by Red Badger (Follow an IROC long enough and sooner or later you will wind up in a trailer park..........)
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To: georgiagirl_pam
My very thoughts ...... libs will do their best to discredit this advance ...... they need the far fetched chance that embyotic stem cells will cure something someday to assuage their guilt of abortion.

.

8 posted on 07/12/2006 5:35:37 AM PDT by Elle Bee
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To: Elle Bee
libs...they need the far fetched chance that embyotic stem cells will cure something someday to assuage their guilt of abortion.

to keep their lucrative abortion mills up and running

9 posted on 07/12/2006 6:56:29 AM PDT by maine-iac7 (LINCOLN: "...but you can't fool all of the people all of the time")
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To: Irishguy
Prayers for more success in the research.
10 posted on 07/12/2006 7:19:26 AM PDT by eccentric (a.k.a. baldwidow)
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To: Red Badger
So, you had Edison and Tesla for roomates?.........

I believe Tesla was a couple of years ahead of me.;)

11 posted on 07/12/2006 9:29:45 AM PDT by USArmySpouse
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To: USArmySpouse

Shocking!.........


12 posted on 07/12/2006 9:31:15 AM PDT by Red Badger (Follow an IROC long enough and sooner or later you will wind up in a trailer park..........)
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To: Right Wing Assault
Fantastic news!

sw

13 posted on 07/12/2006 9:33:35 AM PDT by spectre (Spectre's wife)
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