Marc Darrow MD, JD.

With patches of stem cells on their broken spinal cords, partially paralyzed rats once againreached out and grabbed distant treats, researchers report in Nature Medicine. While previous studies have shown progress in regenerating certain types of nerve cells in injured spinal cords, the study is the first to coax the regrowth of a specific set of nerve cells, called corticospinal axons. These bundles of biological wiring carry signals from the brain to the spinal cord and are critical for voluntary movement

According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Association, as many as 450,000 people in the U.S. are living with a spinal cord injury (SCI).

Editor's Note: This story, originally printed in the September 1999 issue of Scientific American, is being posted due to a new study showing that nerve cells can be regenerated by knocking out genes that typically inhibit their growth.

Stem cells have the incredible ability to develop into a variety of different cell types within the body. In addition, stem cells can play a crucial role in internally repairing many types of tissues. During this process, stem cells divide, replenishing other cells without limit.

Update: January 2018 Background information:One of the biggest issues preventing recovery after achronicspinal cord injury is the scar that appears a few days or weeks after the injury and prevents any axon from growing away from the lesion area. One of the key scar reduction strategies involves using the Chondroitinase enzyme

The spinal cord is a collection of nerve fibres and other tissues contained with the spine. The nerves within the spinal cord connect the peripheral nervous system to the brain forming the central nervous system. The spinal cord is essential for the transmission and reception of electrical messages to and from the brain to other areas of the body.

Because stem cells have the potential to generate cells designed to replace or repair cells damaged by spinal cord injury, advocates of stem cell research and treatment believe that the benefits far outweigh the negative aspects. Opponents of this research and treatment, however, typically bring up the issue of embryonic stem cells, which are harvested from embryos and fetal tissue. Accordingly, they feel the use of these embryonic stem cells is not moral or ethical.

A syrinx is a fluid-filled cavity within the spinal cord (syringomyelia) or brain stem (syringobulbia). Predisposing factors include craniocervical junction abnormalities, previous spinal cord trauma, and spinal cord tumors. Symptoms include flaccid weakness of the hands and arms and deficits in pain and temperature sensation in a capelike distribution over the back and neck; light touch and position and vibration sensation are not affected

How Adipose Stem Cell Technology Develops Spinal Cord Injury Treatment No matter where they may naturally be found in the body, Adult Stem Cells are like electricity. They are pure potential. When properly stimulated, stem cells become whatever type of cell the body needs: bone, blood, cartilage, muscle, nerve, and more

Stem cell therapy can be defined as a part of a group of new techniques, or technologies that rely on replacing diseased or dysfunctional cells with healthy, functioning ones.

In an apparent major breakthrough, scientists in Korea report using umbilical cord blood stem cells to restore feeling and mobility to a spinal-cord injury patient. The research, published in the peer-reviewed journal Cythotherapy, centered on a woman had been a paraplegic 19 years due to an accident.

(May, 2010) If there was ever a woman on a mission, its Laura Dominguez. Doctors once told her shed never walk again.

The spinal cord is a column of nerve tissue.

Basic Spinal Cord Anatomy To understand this confusion and what you are actually being told when your injury is described as being at a certain level, it is necessary to understand basic spinal anatomy. The spine and the spinal cord are two different structures.

Espaol Katie Sharify had six days to decide: would she let her broken body become experimental territory for a revolutionary new approacheven if it was unlikely to do her any good? The question was barely fathomable.

Engineered human stem cells have been used to enable paraplegic rats to walk independently and regain sensory perception. The implanted rats had some healing in their spinal cords

Overview A spinal cord injury damage to any part of the spinal cord or nerves at the end of the spinal canal (cauda equina) often causes permanent changes in strength, sensation and other body functions below the site of the injury. If you've recently experienced a spinal cord injury, it might seem like every aspect of your life has been affected. You might feel the effects of your injury mentally, emotionally and socially

Stem cell research is often controversial but it has also led to incredible medical progress in recent years. Stem cell research is at defining moment.

Spinal cord injury is the injury to the spinal cord, a very serious form of trauma with enduring effects on the patients daily life. The spinal cord is approximately 18 inches long and extends from brain base at the neck and ending just above the buttocks.