The Derby City Chapter of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association Network- Serving Kentuckiana.
Message From the President
Dear Members & Friends-
We will have our annual Christmas party this month at Highland Court Apartments, [map] in lieu of our regular meeting. See announcement below for details. Notice that the date is December 19th.
January’s meeting is at Frazier Institute, 220 Abraham Flexner Way, Louisville, Kentucky in the 10th floor dining room, at 6:30 p.m. Refreshments provided.
FIRST STEPS TOWARDS SPINAL CORD RECONSTRUCTION FOLLOWING INJURY USING STEM CELLS
A new study has identified what may be a pivotal first step towards the Regeneration of nerve cells following spinal cord injury, using the body’s own stem cells.
This seminal study, published in this week’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, identifies key elements in the body’s reaction to spinal injury, critical information that could lead to novel therapies for repairing previously irreversible nerve damage in the injured spinal cord.
Very little is known about why, unlike a wound to the skin for example, the adult nervous system is unable to repair itself following spinal injury. This is in contrast to the developing brain and non-mammals which can repair and regenerate after severe injuries. One clue from these systems has been the role of stem cells and their potential to develop into different cell types.
“Because of their regenerative role, it is critical to understand the movements of stem cells following brain or spinal cord injury,” says Dr. Phillip Horner, co-lead investigator and neuroscientist at the University of Washington. “We know that stem cells are present within the spinal cord, but it was not known why they could not function to repair the damage. Surprisingly, we discovered that they actually migrate away from the Lesion and the question became why—what signal is telling the stem cells to move.”
