Spinal

Unfortunately there isn’t much that doctors can do to repair the damage after a spinal cord injury. But UCLA researchers have shown in tests in mice that injections of a porous scaffold material can help the body patch up the damage.

An analysis of 13 case histories has found intravenous injections of stem cells lead to motor function improvements in patients with spinal cord injury. The research claims the therapy is safe but clinical trials are needed to further affirm efficacy.

German scientists have restored the ability to walk in mice that had been paralyzed by a complete spinal cord injury. The team created a “designer” signaling protein and injected it into the animals’ brains, stimulating nerve cells to regenerate.

The authors of a new study have found that spinal cord stimulation can not only reduce pain in Parkinson's subjects where other treatments have failed, but also improved motor symptoms in almost three quarters of the patients tested.

In some neurological disorders neuronal connections in the brain can be lost. Now researchers have created synthetic molecules that may be able to patch them up, with tests in cultured cells and mice showing promise in treating disease and injury.

Scientists have redesigned an enzyme found in nature that selectively untangles scarring in a way that promotes regrowth of injured nerve cells, opening up new pathways in the development of treatments for spinal cord injuries and stroke.

Axons, the long nerve fibers that pass signals between neurons, can't regenerate after injury. But now researchers have found that boosting a certain protein helps patch up axons, returning more movement and feeling to mice with spinal cord injuries.

Scientists may have uncovered an effective new treatment for muscle spasms associated with spinal cord injuries, in the form of an existing blood pressure medication that proved capable of halting their progression in mice.

Not only are herniated discs painful and debilitating, but treatments for them leave something to be desired. A new technique, however, may be more effective than anything that's come before.

Scientists at the University of California San Diego are reporting a breakthrough in spinal injury research, demonstrating a new injection technique in mice they say can deliver far larger doses of stem cells to problem areas with far less risk.

​When a spinal cord injury occurs, sometimes it's the body's own immune system that causes the subsequent paralysis. In the not-too-distant future, however, it's possible that an injection of nanoparticles at the injury site may be able to rein in the well-meaning but destructive immune cells.

​As the shock-absorbing cartilage discs between our vertebrae degenerate due to aging, accidents or overuse, severe back pain can result. While some scientists have developed purely synthetic replacement discs, a recent test on goats indicates that bioengineered discs may be a better way to go.