Monday, January 07, 2008

Scientists restore walking after spinal cord injury

Source: University of California - Los Angeles
Date: January 7, 2008

Summary:

Spinal cord damage blocks the routes that the brain uses to send messages to the nerve cells that control walking. Until now, doctors believed that the only way for injured patients to walk again was to re-grow the long nerve highways that link the brain and base of the spinal cord. For the first time, a UCLA study shows that the central nervous system can reorganize itself and follow new pathways to restore the cellular communication required for movement.