Hope

A team of researchers in Spain has managed to reconnect a severed spinal cord in a rat. Could this be a breakthrough for humans with spinal injuries?

Research work by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos de Toledo has managed to reconnect a rat’s spinal cord that had been completely severed at the thoracic level (Complete Thoracic Transection), thanks to a three-dimensional foam created with reduced graphene oxide.

Millions of patients and their caretakers live and deal with the devastating consequences of spinal cord injury (SCI). Indeed, a total of 27 million people live with SCI worldwide.

Normally, when an injury occurs in the spinal cord, it is not completely severed but the injuries usually affect a specific part of the spinal cord. This research has shown that graphene foam can enhance the reconnection of neural tissue even when the injury is complete.

When graphene foam was placed in a rat that had undergone CTT on its spinal cord, it was found that a large number of blood vessels appeared, which are essential for nourishing the new tissue, and neurites (filaments that connect some neurons with others). The results show development after ten days but are much more noticeable after four months.

Another discovery found by the team of researchers was brain response when the spinal cord was stimulated below the damaged area confirming not only that there is neural tissue passing through the graphene but that it reconnects with the brain.

(News: Toledo, Castila-La Mancha – Source: ScienceDirect.com)

Keywords: Spinal Injuries, Neurites, Graphene Foam, Rat, Spinal Cord, CTT, CSIC, Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos

news, castilla-la mancha, spinal injuries, neurites, graphene foam, rat, spinal cord, CTT, CSIC, hospital nacional de parapléjicos

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