Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Key Advance In Treating Spinal Cord Injuries Found In Manipulating Stem Cells

image of spine
ScienceDaily (Sep. 19, 2008) — Researchers in Rochester, N.Y., and Colorado have shown that manipulating stem cells prior to transplantation may hold the key to overcoming a critical obstacle to using stem cell technology to repair spinal cord injuries.

Research from a team of scientists from the University of Rochester Medical Center and the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, published today in the online Journal of Biology, may lead to improved spinal cord repair methods that pave the way for victims of paralysis to recover the use of their bodies without the risk of transplant-induced pain syndromes.

The research focuses on a major support cell in the central nervous system called astrocytes. When nerve fibers are injured in the spinal cord, the severed ends of the nerve fibers fail to regenerate and reconnect with the nervous system circuitry beyond the site of the injury.
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