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Biotech Science

Regenerated Nerve Cells Let Rats Walk Again 46

Posted by timothy from the then-comes-human-doctor-number-two dept.
SteamyMobile writes "Paralysis by spinal cord injuries through accidents must be one of the most horrible life-altering experiences imaginable, often affecting young, active people, and so far there has been no effective treatment of it. Researchers at the Miami School of Medicine have found a therapy involving regenerating nerve cells to cross the gap in the spinal cord. 70% of rats could walk again after the therapy. Hopefully this could benefit Christopher Reeves and thousands of others who have had their lives changed so much by spinal injuries."
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Regenerated Nerve Cells Let Rats Walk Again More

Regenerated Nerve Cells Let Rats Walk Again

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  • not to nitpick (Score:2, Informative)

    by trs9000 ( 73898 )
    i dont mean to nitpick but the gentlemans name is Reeve. no 's' on the end.
    the site [apacure.com] you linked to makes that pretty clear.

  • Statistics (Score:5, Informative)

    by HalfFlat ( 121672 ) on Sunday May 23, 2004 @11:12PM (#9234814)

    Just a heads-up on an error in the summary: the Wired articles states than (all) the rats which received the combination treatment regained 70% of their walking function, not that 70% of the injured rats became able to walk.

    Given that the improvement was over a period of just eight weeks, this is possibly even more promising than the mangled statistic in the summary.

  • ...often affecting young, active people...

    So what of us hideous, nerd-like beings? It's not a terrible thing simply because some pretty people ain't so pretty no mo. Common ./ editors, was that statement really so necessary?

    • Just call me a jackass... the first 3 times I read that, I saw "attractive", not "active". Durr... Excuse me whilst I make a quick trip to the coffee pot to get an eye opener.

      "Moo, Moo. Moo Moo Moo Moo" (Translation: "Sorry, my bad.")

    • Re:WTF? Only Hot People Apply? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by jgaynor ( 205453 ) <jon@gaAUDENynor.org minus poet> on Sunday May 23, 2004 @11:35PM (#9234889) Homepage
      ...often affecting young, active people...

      Actually Im a big dork and sustained a fairly dork-related injury which this could help. During finals of my senior year I stressed myself out so badly that I incurred the wrath of Ramsey-Hunt syndrome [fpnotebook.com] - think of it like chicken pox in your brain. It cuts off the cranial facial nerve and paralyzes one side of your face. The nerve regrows but is almost never 100% again. Id love to get this fixed so my smile won't be so f*ed up anymore. I only hope when this technology hits the open market it's not tens of thousands of dollars and will work on non-spinal nerves.
      • For some nerve problems (squished, damaged etc) you could try methycobalamin (B12 with a methyl). Typical dosage is 1x500ug three times a day.

        It helps some cases of RSI (the B12 helps the squished nerves = less/no pain).

        I don't know if it'll help you - if the nerves are too screwed up, it may not. But it might be worth a shot - it's cheap, safe and the side effects are very minimal.

        I'm not a doc and don't have any medical training. So look up the various research publications on it on the net and consult
        • You're absolutely right - and yes B1/B12 are helpful when you're in the 'regrowth' stage of a squished nerve. Most people recover without issue, but some experience 'weak' nerves afterwards or even crossed nerves (ie when you smile on one side you inadvertently blink an eye). The condition has a name - something like sink***sis - but since I can't remember exactly google isn't being very helpful.

          The harvard neurological forums [harvard.edu] are a great resource for people with bells/Ramsey Hunt and some other nerve di
      • Wow Jon. I'm 110% serious when I say I never noticed it in the two years I've been working at ResNet with you (this is A.J.)... See you at work sometime...
      • sustained a fairly dork-related injury

        You do realise what the word "dork" means, right? I got something in my email that might help you "regain your manhood" if you want... Not trying to mock your injury of course.

  • Math proves Christopher Reeve will walk again! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 23, 2004 @11:53PM (#9234968)
    A rat can carry around a kilo when it is healthy. I would assume that these 70% rehabilitated lab rats can carry 700 grams. Assuming Chris has lost some weight since the fall and he now weighs 70 kilos, it will only take the combined effort of 100 of these rats for him to walk again!

    Throw in one 'super rat' that tells the other rats what to do, and Segway has some serious competition...

    • Re:Math proves Christopher Reeve will walk again! (Score:3, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Assuming Chris has lost some weight since the fall and he now weighs 70 kilos, it will only take the combined effort of 100 of these rats for him to walk again!

      Scientists have already figured out how to do this with cockroaches; unfortunately it only allows crippled people to be mobile in the dark. If you turn the light on really fast they slam you right into the fridge.

  • Superman no walkie (Score:5, Insightful)

    by martinX ( 672498 ) on Monday May 24, 2004 @01:09AM (#9235285)
    The original research mentioned in the article was done in the hospital where I work, and I become very familiar with the material - I made the Flash-driven CD-ROM press release (first time I used Flash video) :-) . Since I come from a life sciences background, it didn't go whooshing over my head. Bottom line: this sort of treatment, if the patients are to have any chance of succeess, must be used within about 30 days of the injury occurring. Superman will not fly.

    The treatment still hasn't been used to treat spinal cord damage in humans. Phase 1 trials (where they see if there are any negative effects from the treatment) were carried out in our hospital last year. It'll be a while before they move on to Phase 2.

  • chistopher reeve is screwed (Score:4, Interesting)

    by maddh ( 608481 ) on Monday May 24, 2004 @01:24AM (#9235333)
    I saw some spinal injury expert interview on the news a while ago when the stem cell controversy was bigger and christopher reeves had that commercial where special effects made him stand up. The expert said that when the spinal cord is severed, after a certain period of time the spinal cord below the cut turns to mush cause it doesn't get used. basically saying that people with old injuries were screwed and the best medicine could hope for is treating people right after the injury. So while these rats have only a .1 mm gap to regenerate, christopher reeve could very well have 3 feet of spinal mush along with peripheral nerves that would need regeneration.

    But then again he wiggled a toe and breathes on his own now so i might be wrong.

  • This is really cool! I want a new body (mine isn't working properly) and this could be a mayor step forward towards a total body transplant! You know, put my bran into someone elses body and the grow the severed spinal cords together again.
  • Does this treatment work in the brain as well? Can it help Bush?

    -
  • The approach seems sound - the results look reasonable and believable and it is published in a top-tier journal. Noone overstates their claims and, at least to these jaded eyes, it truly looks like it could be developed into something of real therapeutic value.

    It's a shame that a well-researched story be buried with all the sensationalist stuff. Being fairly new to /. - I wonder if there is a way to moderate stories up...?
  • Rats can walk? Did I just wake up from a 100-year coma?

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