Scientists hope to give people back the use of disabled arms and legs after a world-first breakthrough allowing them to regrow the missing nerves in rats.
Trials of the technology are still in the early stages, but better-than-expected results raise prospects of saving limbs lost in accidents or eventually overcoming paraplegia and quadriplegia.
St Vincent’s Hospital researchers have built and implanted a bridge between severed nerves in areas too large and complex to be healed by conventional nerve grafts.
After successfully restoring the feeling and partial use of legs in rats missing the main nerve to their limbs, director of neurosciences Prof Mark Cook said new trials had begun to see how far the technology can allow nerves to regrow in the hope it can be expanded to humans studies in the next two to five years.
“We will have the potential to deal with a broader range and bigger injured nerves down the track,” Prof Cook said.
“Some of these gaps in humans are substantial. You can have long sections of nerves in humans because obviously their limbs are a lot longer than in animals such as rats.
“We started by focusing on the large peripheral nerves as it seems the best target and, once we have mastered that, we would be able to move on to the spinal chord. This worked better than we anticipated so we are really pleased it is something we can take to humans in the not-too-distant future.”
In conjunction with ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science in Wollongong, the St Vincent’s team built a chamber made of polymer and containing a gel of growth factors, which is placed in a 1cm section of missing nerve to act as a bridge and restore contact between the brain and damaged sections of the body.
In recent trials the scientists were able to see rats regain partial and, when the chambers were removed after four weeks, discovered new nerves had grown to reconnect the disabled limbs to the brain.
Assoc Prof Robert Kapsa said the technology could mitigate the impact of injuries by restoring more feeling.
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Nerve regeneration
- ProNerve6 Reviews - (Exposed) - Don’t Buy Until You Read This!
It has been difficult for me to deal with neuropathic pain, sometimes referred to as nerve pain.ProNerve6 - Only Product That Helped Me With Nerve Pain.
- State of Origin 2024: Fears Maroons star Tom Flegler could miss entire series with shoulder injury
The Dolphins have turned to red-light therapy in a desperate bid to get Tom Flegler back on the park amid fears the Queensland enforcer could miss this year’s entire Origin series.
- Red light therapy for repairing spinal cord injury passes milestone
Patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) could benefit from a future treatment to repair nerve connections using red and near-infrared light.
- Nerve Repair and Regeneration Market Estimated To Reach USD 32.4 Billion By 2033
According to Market.us, the projected size of the Nerve Repair and Regeneration Market is anticipated to reach around USD 32.4 Billion by the year 2033, indicating a significant surge from its value ...
- Nerve Repair and Regeneration Market Beyond the Horizon Envisioning the Future of Market Size Analysis
Nerve Repair and Regeneration Market is valued approximately at USD 5.72 billion in 2019 and is anticipated to grow with a healthy growth rate of more than 9.15% over the forecast period 2020-2027.
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Nerve regeneration
[google_news title=”” keyword=”nerve regeneration” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Regenerative medicine
- Regenerative medicine effort generates interest in Manchester growth
One company in Manchester's Millyard is working on a retinal patch to help cure macular degeneration affecting people's vision. Another Millyard firm is developing a tissue graft that will make it ...
- Organogenesis Shares Jump After Narrower 1Q Loss, Higher Revenue
By Zaeem Shoaib Organogenesis Holdings shares rose after the company reported a narrower loss for the first quarter along with higher revenue. Shares were ...
- ARMI project secures $100 million from Department of Defense
The Department of Defense has committed $100 million over the next 10 years to the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI), the regional effort headquartered in the Manchester Millyard to ...
- Organogenesis Holdings Inc. Reports First Quarter 2024 Financial Results
First Quarter 2024 Financial Results Summary: Net revenue from Advanced Wound Care products of $103.9 million, an increase of 3% from the first quarter of 2023. Net revenue from Surgical & Sports ...
- DoD gives ARMI another $100M, much of it for workforce development
Inventor Dean Kamen spilled the news about getting a $100 million federal grant he hopes will help make Manchester a major hub for regenerative medicine.
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Regenerative medicine
[google_news title=”” keyword=”regenerative medicine” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]