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‘Dancing molecules’ successfully repair severe spinal cord injuries

news.northwestern.edu

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Re: ‘Dancing molecules’ successfully repair severe spinal cord injuries

#11

Post by lr4444lr »

ekianjo wrote: post #3

Again mice models...

"We are going straight to the FDA to start the process of getting this new therapy approved for use in human patients, who currently have very few treatment options.”

This is not a cheap process in terms of money and manpower. I think they probably have reason for confidence.

IIRC, the motor CNS in mammals is pretty similar across the board.

Re: ‘Dancing molecules’ successfully repair severe spinal cord injuries

#12

Post by ghastmaster »

> The therapy also induces myelin to rebuild around axons and reduces glial scarring, which acts as a physical barrier that prevents the spinal cord from healing

This gives the impression that this would need to be administered before any scaring takes place. It is probably not a remedy for people with old injuries.

Re: ‘Dancing molecules’ successfully repair severe spinal cord injuries

#13

Post by gibbonsrcool »

I've always wondered... and so far have been unable to Google this: Does the non-nucleus part of a severed nerve cell die? If so, that would mean we only have a small window to "rejoin" severed CNS nerve cells, right? Nerve cells can be very long, I think up to a meter. I'd assume this includes spinal nerve cells of the CNS, which don't regrow. If the cells are severed, like in a spinal injury, that means there's a half-cell fragment with a nucleus, and the other half is the axon that's been cut away without a nucleus. Wouldn't the fragment without a nucleus shrivel up and die? That would be my intuition because I'd assume the nucleus is necessary to keep a cell alive.

Re: ‘Dancing molecules’ successfully repair severe spinal cord injuries

#14

Post by mattlondon »

gibbonsrcool wrote: post #13

I've always wondered... and so far have been unable to Google this: Does the non-nucleus part of a severed nerve cell die? If so, that would mean we only have a small window to "rejoin" severed CNS nerve cells, right? Nerve cells can be very long, I think up to a meter. I'd assume this includes spinal nerve cells of the CNS, which don't regrow. If the cells are severed, like in a spinal injury, that means there's a h…

I would assume that the entire cell would die without the membrane to hold everything together.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysis

Re: ‘Dancing molecules’ successfully repair severe spinal cord injuries

#15

Post by gibbonsrcool »

mattlondon wrote: post #14
gibbonsrcool wrote: post #13

I've always wondered... and so far have been unable to Google this: Does the non-nucleus part of a severed nerve cell die? If so, that would mean we only have a small window to "rejoin" severed CNS nerve cells, right? Nerve cells can be very long, I think up to a meter. I'd assume this includes spinal nerve cells of the CNS, which don't regrow. If the cells are severed, like in a spinal injury, that means there's a h…

I would assume that the entire cell would die without the membrane to hold everything together. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysis

PNS nerve cells regenerate axons: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2846285/

Re: ‘Dancing molecules’ successfully repair severe spinal cord injuries

#16

Post by Chris2048 »

hungryforcodes wrote: post #6
ekianjo wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mice models have a very bad track record when it comes to humans. Too much junk publications out there to push papers and get credits.

You have to start somewhere though.

Yes, but publication of hopeful articles should be near the end, not the start.

Re: ‘Dancing molecules’ successfully repair severe spinal cord injuries

#17

Post by gus_massa »

ekianjo wrote: post #3

Again mice models...

I'm not an expert, but I guess this part is similar enough in mice and human to be optimistic. But IIUC the treatment only makes the regrow of the cut axons faster, it does not reconnect one part with the other part. So the time you should wait until the axon grows to the initial length in humans will be much longer than in mice.

Re: ‘Dancing molecules’ successfully repair severe spinal cord injuries

#18

Post by tryptophan »

gibbonsrcool wrote: post #13

I've always wondered... and so far have been unable to Google this: Does the non-nucleus part of a severed nerve cell die? If so, that would mean we only have a small window to "rejoin" severed CNS nerve cells, right? Nerve cells can be very long, I think up to a meter. I'd assume this includes spinal nerve cells of the CNS, which don't regrow. If the cells are severed, like in a spinal injury, that means there's a h…

Yep. The nerve soma(the cell body) does not die when the nerve is cut. The axon distal to the cut dies. The living axon tries to grow into the 'scaffold' of the axon part that died. This can take months and doesn't always restore full functionality.

Re: ‘Dancing molecules’ successfully repair severe spinal cord injuries

#19

Post by rocqua »

Based on this stimulating Axon growth, it sounds like it might help to repair the damage caused by MS. That would be amazing news. Not a cure per se, but a way to actually treat symptoms rather than just surpressing. Worryingly, they mention a few neurodegenerative diseases but not MS.
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