(Soure: File Photo)Scientists have found that many of the genes that aid in the natural repair of injured spinal cord in the lamprey fish are also active in the repair of the peripheral nervous system in mammals, a finding that may eventually be harnessed to reverse spinal cord damage, even paralysis in humans. The fish species can fully recover from a severed spinal cord without medication or other treatment. They found many genes in the spinal cord that change over time with recovery and also discovered a number of injury-induced gene expression changes in the brain. “This reinforces the idea that the brain changes a lot after a spinal cord injury. Most people are thinking, ‘What can you do to treat the spinal cord itself?’ but our data really support the idea that there’s also a lot going on in the brain,” Morgan said.

Source: Indian Express January 15, 2018 13:15 UTC