Spinal nerve regeneration

TORN spinal nerves can be reconnected by removing a “biological brake” on their growth, scientists have shown.

The research, conducted in mice, points the way to restoring movement in paralysed victims of back and neck injuries.

Researchers in the US focused on a protein that turns off the growth of nerve fibres in adults.

By deleting the protein, an enzyme called PTEN, they were able to switch the ability of spinal nerves to regenerate back on.

The scientists are investigating if the technique can restore movement to mice crippled by spinal cord injuries.

The findings were reported in the journal Nature Neuroscience. Study leader Professor Oswald Steward, from the University of California at Irvine, said: “Paralysis and loss of function from spinal cord injury has been considered untreatable, but our discovery points the way toward a potential therapy to induce regeneration of nerve connections following spinal cord injury in people.”