A revolutionary step for stroke treatment.

Scientists have found a way to repair damaged spinal fibers that don’t repair themselves after a major injury, a major step toward reversing and curing some types of paralysis.

A team of scientists from Imperial College London in England was able to stimulate the regeneration of axonal fibers in the spines of mice three months after a devastating spinal cord injury that left them unable to walk.

Although the mice never regained their ability to walk, doctors were able to repair these fibers in the spine for the first time, opening the door for further research into repairing damage caused by spinal cord injury. (SCI).

Although physical therapy and other forms of therapy can help people gradually regain some function, there is no reliable way to repair an injured spine and treat paralysis associated with spinal cord injury.

In a study published on Tuesday, September 20 in the journal PLOS, researchers tested whether the TTK21 molecule could be used to activate axon regeneration in mice with spinal cord injuries.

Scientists have found in previous studies that the molecule will do the job if given shortly after the injury, but there is no data on whether it is effective for acute spinal cord injury.

All mice were treated for ten weeks, half with TTK21 and the other half with control treatment.

After the treatment was completed, the scientists discovered that new axons sprouted in the spinal cord. Axons are fibers responsible for transmitting signals and impulses between nerve cells.

When the body is damaged, it can no longer send signals from the brain through the nervous system, making motor functions impossible.

When damaged, they do not repair themselves, causing permanent and devastating damage to the nervous system, especially the spinal cord, where many nerves connect to the brain.

Axons affected by the injury also stopped regenerating, and growth of sensory axons increased in treated mice.

Unfortunately, despite the axonal growth, the paralyzed mice did not regain their ability to walk and showed no real improvement in their motor function.

Scientists still hope that TTK21 will serve as the basis for future stroke treatments.

The principal investigator of the study, Simone Di Giovanni, said that this study shows that in animals, a drug called TTK21, which is regularly taken once a week after chronic spinal cord injury (SCI), can promote neuronal regrowth and increase synapses required for neuronal transmission.

This is important because chronic spinal cord injury is an untreated condition in which neurons regrow and fail to repair.

“We are now investigating how to combine this drug with strategies that block the spinal cord, such as biomaterials, as a possible means of post-disability recovery in SCI patients,” said Simon.

Source: Daily Mail