December 4, 2007 6:03 PM
A new discovery in bone marrow transplant may help provide an important step in developing artificial nerves. At Kyoto University School of Medicine, researchers published in an issue of Cell Transplantation their discovery. Transplanted bone marrow cells, containing adult stem cells protected by a 15mm. silicon tube supported by bio-engineered materials, help regenerate damaged nerves.
Artificial nerves taken from a variety of cells then transplanted to nerve damaged areas have always been considered as an option other than grafting. Before the discovery of a way to regenerate damaged nerves, scientists have not been able to regenerate axons with sufficient vascularity or length to bridge the nerve gaps.
I feel that this discovery is a starting point for more and more discoveries to be made about nerve damage and regeneration. Many people have nerve damage and never completely recover. This discovery will help set the way for people with those injuries to find treatment in the near future.
