NIH Research Matters January 14, 2008 Mice Walk Again After
Spinal Cord Injury Spinal cord injuries sever the connection
between the brain and body. Researchers have long thought that,
to restore movement, the long nerve fibers that run from the
brain to the lower spinal cord had to be regrown. A new study in
mice showed that nerves within the spinal cord can rearrange and
restore those connections. The finding could lead to new
therapies for the estimated 250,000 Americans living with spinal
cord injuries. Spinal cord injuries damage the nerves that allow
the brain to send and receive messages from throughout the body,
controlling everything from our muscles and breathing to
digestion. Researchers assumed that the reason some people
recover from spinal cord injuries is that these long nerve
fibers from the brain haven't been completely severed. However,
scattered evidence over the past several decades has suggested
that other shorter nerve cells (or neurons) within the spinal
cord may also be involved. The q