Spinal

A drug used to induce labor in pregnant women has been shown to reactivate tiny waste-clearing pumps in the brains of old mice. The finding could hold promise for fighting Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and overall cognitive decline.

In what sounds more like the opening scene from a B-grade sci-fi/horror flick, head transplant operations performed entirely by AI-robot surgeons could be coming to a hospital near you within a decade, if startup BrainBridge is to have its way.

It feels like back pain comes for many of us at some point in our lives, and it’s tricky to treat. A new gene therapy, which repairs damaged discs and reduces pain, has shown promise in mouse tests.

Applying red-light therapy to a damaged spinal cord protects and regenerates nerve cells, leading to a return of motor and sensory function, according to new research. The treatment could expand limited treatments for people with spinal cord injuries.

Researchers have developed drug-loaded nanoparticles that target the cells that cause damaging inflammation following a spinal cord injury. The novel nanotherapy opens the door to new therapeutic possibilities for people with spinal injuries.

In big news for the millions who suffer from chronic lower back pain due to degraded disks, scientists have made a potentially huge breakthrough in understanding its cause at a microscopic level, paving the way for effective cell therapy to relieve it.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have developed a new spinal stimulator that can help restore lower limb function to paralyzed patients. The tiny device can be non-invasively implanted through a syringe.

A complete spinal cord injury results, tragically, in total paralysis of all limbs and muscles below the injury site. But now, scientists at EPFL have demonstrated in mice a new gene therapy that can regenerate nerves and restore the ability to walk.

Loss of arm and hand mobility is a common and devastating disability among stroke survivors, but a promising new study shows how cervical spinal cord stimulation could improve limb function and restore quality of life.

Electrical spinal stimulation can help paralyzed people walk again. In a promising new clinical trial, scientists have identified the specific neurons being stimulated, and found that patients can still walk even after the implant was turned off.

In a world-first clinical trial, three babies have been born after receiving stem cell treatment for spina bifida. A stem cell patch is applied to the fetus’ spine while still developing in the womb, and early results are promising one year on.

A drug under investigation as a cancer treatment has shown exciting promise in a rather different branch of medical research, with scientists demonstrating how it can promote nerve repair following spinal injury.