Could CNS damage be repaired by controlling signals in nerve cells?
Scientists in Aberdeen are carrying out research to see whether modifying chemicals and proteins signaling molecules within nerve cells could help repair damage to the human central nervous system (CNS). Most cells in the human body have the ability to repair themselves. For example, if you cut your finger, in most cases, it will eventually heal. However, if our CNS suffers injury – perhaps after a road accident or a fall like the riding disaster suffered by the late actor Christopher Reeve; or following a stroke or the onset of neurodegenerative disease – it is unable to repair itself. This may be because the body could suffer even more if nerve processes in the brain and spinal cord – which together make up the CNS – are wrongly re-connected. The CNS is made up of a variety of cells and tissues that make many proteins that prevent the regrowth of damaged nerve processes, known as axons. For years, researchers have tried to identify these “inhibitory” proteins. Attempts have been made
