To restore walking in spinal cord injuries, proper direction while regrowing nerve cells critical, new study in mouse model reveals

New Delhi, Sep 22 (PTI) Directing and nudging nerve cells while regrowing them is critical to restoring the ability to walk in mice with spinal cord injuries, scientists at the University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA), US, found.

They failed to restore functionality to the spinal cord by merely regenerating nerve fibres, without directionally guiding their growth, from nerve cells that help make improvements in walking across the spinal cord wound.

The researchers then used chemical signals and observed significant improvements in the walking ability of the mouse model of complete spinal cord injury, they reported in their study published in the journal Science.