Motor Nerve Cell Regeneration.
Oct. 6th, 2004 03:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swestrupWe're slowly learning how to cause nerve cells to grow and regenerate. Now, someone has found that the myelin sheath cells that surround nerve cells, and which often remain when some diseases destroy the central nerve cells, can secrete a chemical that allows the nerves to regrow.
So far, this has no clinical application and would only be good against things like ALS, and not MS, but its just one more step in being able to cure serious neural diseases. Its also unclear if this has any application to repairing the kind of gross nerve trauma that Christopher Reeve suffered.
Coupled with the recent discovery that a common antibiotic may slow the onset of ALS by protecting the nerves from damage, its looking like we're finally getting a handle on treatments for Lou Gerhig's Disease (ALS).
So far, this has no clinical application and would only be good against things like ALS, and not MS, but its just one more step in being able to cure serious neural diseases. Its also unclear if this has any application to repairing the kind of gross nerve trauma that Christopher Reeve suffered.
Coupled with the recent discovery that a common antibiotic may slow the onset of ALS by protecting the nerves from damage, its looking like we're finally getting a handle on treatments for Lou Gerhig's Disease (ALS).
