{"id":20343,"date":"2023-10-03T11:19:36","date_gmt":"2023-10-03T11:19:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clinlabint.com\/?p=20343"},"modified":"2023-10-03T11:20:40","modified_gmt":"2023-10-03T11:20:40","slug":"neuro-scientists-reverse-paralysis-by-regenerating-nerves-across-complete-spinal-cord-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clinlabint.com\/neuro-scientists-reverse-paralysis-by-regenerating-nerves-across-complete-spinal-cord-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"Neuro scientists reverse paralysis by regenerating nerves across complete spinal cord injury"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\r\n\"Bio-Rad<\/a>\r\n<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>

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Neuro scientists reverse paralysis by regenerating nerves across complete spinal cord injury<\/h1>\/ in E-News<\/a> <\/span><\/span><\/header>\n<\/div><\/section>
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Scientists at .NeuroRestore, Switzerland, report in the 22 September 2023 issue of\u00a0Science [1] that they have developed a gene therapy that was proven in mice to stimulate nerve regrowth across spinal cord injuries and guide nerves to reconnect to their natural targets to restore mobility.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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When the spinal cords of mice and humans are partially damaged, the initial paralysis is followed by the extensive, spontaneous recovery of motor function. However, after a complete spinal cord injury, this natural repair of the spinal cord doesn\u2019t occur and there is no recovery. Meaningful recovery after severe injuries requires strategies that promote the regeneration of nerve fibres, but the requisite conditions for these strategies to successfully restore motor function have remained elusive.<\/p>\n

\u201cFive years ago, we demonstrated that nerve fibres can be regenerated across anatomically complete spinal cord injuries,\u201d says Mark Anderson, a senior author of the study. \u201cBut we also realized this wasn\u2019t enough to restore motor function, as the new fibres failed to connect to the right places on the other side of the lesion.\u201d Anderson is the director of Central Nervous System Regeneration at .NeuroRestore and a scientist at the Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering.<\/p>\n

Working in tandem with peers at UCLA and Harvard Medical School, the scientists used state-of-the-art equipment at EPFL\u2019s Campus Biotech facilities in Geneva to run in-depth analyses and identity which type of neuron is involved in natural spinal-cord repair after partial spinal cord injury. \u201cOur observations using single-cell nuclear RNA sequencing not only exposed the specific axons that must regenerate, but also revealed that these axons must reconnect to their natural targets to restore motor function,\u201d says Jordan Squair, the study\u2019s first author.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>
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Credit: EPFL \/ .Neurorestore<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>
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A combination of approaches<\/h4>\n

Their discovery informed the design of a multipronged gene therapy. The scientists activated growth programmes in the identified neurons in mice to regenerate their nerve fibres, upregulated specific proteins to support the neurons\u2019 growth through the lesion core, and administered guidance molecules to attract the regenerating nerve fibres to their natural targets below the injury. \u201cWe were inspired by nature when we designed a therapeutic strategy that replicates the spinal-cord repair mechanisms occurring spontaneously after partial injuries,\u201d says Squair.<\/p>\n

Mice with anatomically complete spinal cord injuries regained the ability to walk, exhibiting gait patterns that resembled those quantified in mice that resumed walking naturally after partial injuries. This observation revealed a previously unknown condition for regenerative therapies to be successful in restoring motor function after neurotrauma. \u201cWe expect that our gene therapy will act synergistically with our other procedures involving electrical stimulation of the spinal cord,\u201d says Gr\u00e9goire Courtine, a senior author of the study who also heads .NeuroRestore together with Jocelyne Bloch. \u201cWe believe a complete solution for treating spinal cord injury will require both approaches \u2013 gene therapy to regrow relevant nerve fibres, and spinal stimulation to maximize the ability of both these fibres and the spinal cord below the injury to produce movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

While many obstacles must still be overcome before this gene therapy can be applied in humans, the scientists have taken the first steps towards developing the technology necessary to achieve this feat in the years to come.<\/p>\n

YouTube<\/strong>
\nSee video with interviews of the scientists here:\u00a0https:\/\/youtu.be\/mtPcWBXjOgk<\/a><\/p>\n

Reference:<\/strong>
\n1. Jordan W. Squair\u00a0et al., Recovery of walking after paralysis by regenerating characterized neurons to their natural target region. Science 381, 1338-1345 (2023).
\ndoi: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/science.adi6412<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>
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