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Nose Cells to Cure Spinal Injuries?
dptalia writes "The Guardian has an article on how nose cells may cure spinal injuries. This technique has worked with rats, restoring feeling and movement to limbs damaged by severed nerves. The initial trial will be on people who have lost control of an arm due to the nerves being pulled from the spinal cord." From the article: "If successful, with refinement and research the procedure could be tried on people in a wheelchair. It also has the potential to heal other nerve injuries, such as those caused by stroke, blindness and deafness."
I don't think this technique (alone) could help with CNS injuries. From what I remember ( I did a prelim exam on nerve regeneration during graduate school) the CNS is immunosuppressed. That means that macrophages cannot enter the site of trauma to clear away debris from dead or damaged cells. This debris has been shown to INHIBIT nerve growth/regrowth. This limitation is not really there in PNS damage. If the "nose technique" is coupled with something to remove the debris (or to LOCALLY allow macrophages back into the vicinity of the trauma) then it might be successful. I for one think this is excellent work with some tremendous potential.
The most important aspect (if it works) is the reusability of one's own body parts. Along with "organ cloning" this kind of thinking and research is much more useful than the fights over cloning entire humans and stem cells. Those stem cells are not your own and while maybe offering intermediate health solutions, the ability to recycle our own organs will ultimately lead to the best of all worlds - no moral quagmires and lots of effective medicine.
"The Guardian has an article on how nose cells may cure spinal injuries."
"Bedivere, tell me again how sheep's bladders may be used to prevent earthquakes."
OCD's acting up on me today, so I must point out: One cannot 'cure' an injury. You can cure a disease, you can cure yourself of an injury, but you cannot cure an injury... unless you intend to bring the injury back to health.
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
Although the article doesn't mention it, this could be a big step ahead for people with diabetes who have developed diabetic neuropathy. I have heard people wish they were dead rather than deal with the painful, distracting, and life-altering side-effects of this affliction.
Being a Type 1 diabetic myself, this is one of the biggest concerns - second only to blindness - that I worry about on a regular basis. Personally, this gives me hope that even if we can't eliminate diabetes altogether, we can at least improve the quality of life for those that do have it and develop associated ailments.
This is one of those "Why didn't I think of that" ideas. It facinated me as a kid how a matchstick sized bundle of nerves in charge of smell was able to renerate itself in about a month. Apparently even a strong sneeze can rip it up, but back it comes a few weeks later. I always wondered why these nerves could and other central nervous system parts. Looks like someone else decided "Who cares why? Nerves are nerves, lets use 'em."
The world is made by those who show up for the job.
well, there's actually a large scientific backing to mixing senses, it's called synethesia, consider it mixed up wiring in neural circuitry. check out: http://psy.ucsd.edu/chip/pdf/SciAm_2003.pdf. pretty cool really...
Recently a successful vaccine for cervical cancer was developed, but guess which radical fundamentalist population group was against it because they thought that vaccinating teenage girls against cervical cancer would promote promiscuity? These types are just insane...