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The Spinal Cord Can Repair Itself

February 14, 2007

The Johns Hopkins University researchers have transplanted into damaged spinal cords human nerve stem cells that they say have survived, grown and in some cases connected with the rats own spinal cord cells.

The researchers say this disproves the long-held theory that the spinal cord is incapable of repairing itself.

The accomplishment "establishes a new doctrine for regenerative neuroscience," said Dr. Vassilis Koliatsos, an associate professor of neuropathology.

"We don't yet know whether the connections we've seen can transmit nerve signals to the degree that a rat could be made to walk again," he added. "We're still in the proof-of-concept stage, but we're making progress and we're encouraged."

The research, conducted by Jun Yan, Leyan Xu, Annie Welsh, Glen Hatfield and Koliatsos, appears online in the journal PLoS Medicine.