SEARCH FOR SCI CURE: Scientists working on helping nerve fibers in the spinal cord regrow again

It’s one of the most frustrating parts of a spinal cord injury: why is it that only the nerve fibers in the spinal cord do not re-grow or replace once injured? It’s, for the most part, the reason for paralysis and has confounded scientists … until now. In what could be an incredible discovery, results of a study performed in mice and published in Cell Metabolism suggests that increasing energy supply within these injured spinal cord nerves could help promote axon regrowth and restore some motor functions.

The study showed that a spinal cord injury results in an energy crisis that is intrinsically linked to the limited ability of damaged axons to regenerate. Like gasoline for a car engine, the cells of the body use a chemical compound called adenosine triphosphate (ATP) for fuel. Much of this ATP is made by cellular power plants called mitochondria. In spinal cord nerves, mitochondria can be found along the axons. When axons are injured, the nearby mitochondria are often damaged as well, impairing ATP production in injured nerves.

You can read the full article HERE.