The spinal cord is like a superhighway for the body’s nervous system. Partial injuries, like lane closures, let fewer brain signals through, but complete spinal cord injuries are akin to highway closures. No signals cross the injury site to the other side, paralyzing the body below the site of the injury.
Today, there’s no way to restore motor function – such as the ability to walk – below the injury site. A recent study published in Science, however, shows that walking can be restored even after complete spinal cord injuries in mice. It will be years, however, before the therapy can be used to treat humans.
How Can We Restore Motor Function?
A team of scientists from multiple institutions – specifically, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), the research and treatment center NeuroRestore, the Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering, and the University of California, Los Angeles – have restored the ability to walk in mice by using gene therapy.
