You've got some nerve- again.

December 6, 2001 5:41 AM

You've got some nerve- again. Optical nerves are regenerated after being severed in mammals for the first time. Can spinal nerve regeneration be far behind?
posted by Alwin (3 comments total)

Thank you for posting this link. Three years ago a very good friend of mine was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident, so knowing how close scientists are now coming to regenerating nerves in the spinal cord really fills me with hope for him.
posted by disaster at 6:38 AM on December 6, 2001

Whatever the mechanism, three months after the surgery, about 30 per cent of the nerve fibres had regenerated. This included all major cell types, including those carrying colour and contrast information from the eye to the brain. "Even 10 per cent is sufficient for residual sight," says Thanos.

That sounds like the technology could also potentially be used for certain damaged sight conditions, amongst other things. Good stuff.
posted by walrus at 8:10 AM on December 6, 2001

yeah, what disaster said.
I broke my back about 4 years ago and suffer some minor nerve damage. The idea of maybe someday getting that function back is a great hope of mine.
posted by lizardboy at 3:33 PM on December 6, 2001