A study in mice hints at a new way to treat spinal cord injuries

After a devastating spinal cord injury, mice’s nervus cells balloon up successful size. Some of these neurons stay swollen longer than expected and statesman to die, a study published September 25 successful Science Translational Medicine shows. A supplier that brought this swelling down improved nan mice’s recovery, though it’s not yet known if nan attack would activity successful people.

Until now, nan specifications of neuron swelling successful nan spinal cord weren’t clear, says Bo Chen, a neuroscientist astatine nan University of Texas Medical Branch astatine Galveston. “We didn’t cognize really agelong [the cells enactment swollen], aliases if they’re going to die,” he says. “We were guessing.”