Swiss scientists have cured paralyzed mice. Using gene therapy, they stimulated nerve regrowth across a completely severed spinal cord. The nerves were aligned so that they connected at the appropriate location below the injury site.
The results were published on Thursday evening in the journal ‘Science’. After gene therapy, developed by scientists at the Neurorestore research institute, mice with complete spinal cord injuries gained the ability to walk.
They showed similar walking patterns to mice that learned to walk again after an incomplete spinal cord injury, as the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) announced on Friday. If the spinal cord of mice and humans is only partially injured, extensive spontaneous recovery of motor functions can occur. This is not possible after a complete spinal cord injury.
According to the researchers, many obstacles still need to be overcome before this gene therapy can be applied to humans.
(jam/sda)
source: watson
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