Individuals who are paralyzed due to spinal cord injury have little hope of being able to walk again. Two new studies, however, raise hopes that it may some day be possible to restore movement by coaxing the regeneration of nerves within the central nervous system. In the first study, British and German researchers identified a chemical mechanism by which they were able to stimulate the re-growth of damaged nerve fibers in the central nervous system, or CNS, of mice. They found that a protein called PCAF appears to be essential for nerve regeneration after studying peripheral nerves in cell culture. The peripheral nervous system is involved in sensation and some muscle movement outside the CNS. Damaged axons in the central nervous system make no effort at repair, but experts say about 30 percent of damaged peripheral nerves regenerate, in many cases partially restoring function. The PCAF protein signals a series of chemical and so-called epigenetic events that promote the re-growth of these nerves. Epigenetic processes do not alter DNA. Scientists injected PCAF into mice with damaged spinal cords. They describe in an article in Nature Communications how the protein switched on a repair mechanism, causing new CNS nerve fibers to … Continue reading →

Posted on: 7:36 pm, April 2, 2014, by Kasey Babbitt and Megan Brilley, updated on: 10:18pm, April 2, 2014 OLATHE, Kan. A Blue Valley High School senior said goodbye to friends and family on Wednesday as he boarded a plane to Denver, Colorado, where he plans to undergo treatment following a paralyzing surfing accident. Shortly after 9 a.m. on Wednesday morning 18-year-old Alex Fraser was loaded onto a small private plane at the Johnson County Executive Airport. He then spent the morning traveling, with his parents by his side, to a top Denver rehabilitation center. Before they left, Frasers dad tweeted out to family and friends inviting them here to say goodbye, resulting in several fellow classmates showing up to see off their friend. Fraser had been on spring break vacation with his parents and three brothers, as well as other students and families from Blue Valley High School, when he suffered a critical life threatening injury to his neck and spinal cord while surfing. The injury left him paralyzed from the waist down. About a month prior to the injury Fraser had broken a school record for breast stroke in swimming and also regularly participates in the schools drum … Continue reading →