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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."
... too bad Michael Jackson lost his chance to use this technology years ago...
... elipses...
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.
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.