For the first time, researchers have clearly shown regeneration
of a critical type of nerve fiber that travels between the brain
and the spinal cord and which is required for voluntary
movement. The regeneration was accomplished in a brain injury
site in rats by scientists at the University of California, San
Diego School of Medicine and is described in a study to be
published in the April 6th early on-line edition of the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). "This
finding establishes a method for regenerating a system of nerve
fibers called corticospinal motor axons. Restoring these axons
is an essential step in one day enabling patients to regain
voluntary movement after spinal cord injury," said Mark
Tuszynski, MD, PhD, professor of neurosciences, director of the
Center for Neural Repair at UC San Diego and neurologist at the
Veterans Affairs San Diego Health System. The corticospinal
tract is a massive collection of nerve fibers called axons -
long, slender projections of neurons that tr