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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."
So the news headlines would read: Paraplegic to walk through the power of nose mining
Sorry, sometimes my puns just stink.
Doh! Sorry again.
There are 2 kinds of people in this world. Those that can keep their train of thought,
I hear the main side effect is that everything feels like the smell of chicken.
... too bad Michael Jackson lost his chance to use this technology years ago...
... elipses...
And suddenly my 1+ inch nose becomes the most desired part of my body!
If I clone myself, can I call it a thread?
If a girl winks to us, can I call it a race condition?
Now if your friendly neighborhood LSD junkie says he can smell the pretty colors or sniff the awesome music, he may actually mean it.
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
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.
--as me dons the flame retardant pajamas output--
/.'ers think?
If scientists can find enough of the body's own "self repairing tissue" areas, (plus the stem cells available from umbilical cords, etc.) wouldn't it obviate the need for embryonic stem cell research with all of it's accompanying moral and ethical controversies?
What do the
...Open Source isn't the only answer -- but it's almost always a better value than the alternatives...
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.
"It also has the potential to heal other nerve injuries, such as those caused by stroke, blindness and deafness." hmmm...I know this is wrong. But how should one rewrite this sentence? "It also has the potential to heal other nerve injuries, such as those caused by stroke: blindness and deafness." "It also has the potential to heal other nerve injuries (such as those caused by stroke), blindness and deafness." "It also has the potential to heal blindness, deafness, and other nerve injuries (such as those caused by stroke)."
"Is that a spinal cord on your face or are you just happy to see me?"
You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
Perhaps Mr. Jackson's short nose is part of why he got acquitted of recent molestation charges, as a long nose is evidence of perjury in at least one well-known fairy tale world.
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.
It's poorly worded...
"It also has the potential to heal other nerve injuries, such as those caused by stroke, blindness and deafness."
meaning:
Nerve Injuries, such as:
*Those caused by stroke
*Blindness
*Deafness
Don't take life so seriously. No one makes it out alive.
Newscaster: Can Nose Cells Cure Spinal Injuries? Tune in tonight! ...Later that night
Newscaster: No.
What your teachers meant, was that white blood cells don't *normally* cross the brain/blood barrier and enter the CNS.
- That's the way herpes and zona hides : the virus stays dormant in neurons.
but
When there's an infection, like an encephalitis, some white blood cells (like lymphoncytes), may cross the barrier to come and clean up the disease.
In case of CNS damage, like a stroke, white blood cells do cross the brain barrier to come and try to clean up the mess.
The remaining mess is only part of the problem.
Another part, which isn't adressed by this nose-method (and that's why they say that it won't work with old and heavy spinal damages) is the scar : fibroblast come and refill the damaged hole with non-nervouse "useless" fibrotic material.
Another part of the problem is the inhibition of regrowth :
In PNS the supporting cells (schwan) try to help and encourage regrowth by helping cleaning the path and lining and guiding.
In CNS the glial cells try to close and isolate the damaged region (trying to re-create the broken barrier ?).
That's why they are first trying to solve small-scale problems like thorn nerve roots (more a "inhibition of regrowth" problem).
There are several way to try to fix this :
- One way is to try to stop the inhibition. Some researcher showed in a conference that using a few drugs (include eostrogen as far as I remember) they stoped this inhibition and encouraged the regrowth. Mice with (surgical and therefor "clean" scar-less) spinal section were able to walk again.
This is the "find a drug and patent it" method that the authors of this article are criticizing, but which is favored by private companies (because of the money and possible return on investments).
This reaserchers method is different : in the nose (which like the eye is CNS system, despite the fact we call it olphactive and optical "nerves") the nerves seem to be able to regrow (no inhibition to regrowth, despite being in the CNS). And he has (successfuly tried) to transplant such cell to other sites of injury (small scale, no scar involved) and obtain same uninhibited regrowth.
(this research is only likely to be seen in an university).
Note:
I have a master in medecine so I can give you these extra infromation. But on the other hand, that's not my specialty, and is only simplified from what i remember. Is there any neurologist on slashdot who could give a better explanation ?
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
It might work, but you'll get a runny spine everytime you get a cold.
Did you know you can fertilize your lawn with used motor oil?