Research aims to bring back mobility to those with spinal issues

(WYTV) – Researchers are getting closer to a world where a spinal cord injury does not mean a life confined to a wheelchair.

Spinal cord injuries, nerve damage from a stroke, and progressive diseases such as multiple sclerosis and ALS were believed to be permanent, but a team at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is working to change that.

“We are now becoming aware of a reparative arm of the immune system that can arise naturally to some extent in the aftermath of injury,” said neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin Segal.

The researchers discovered a new type of immune cell in mice that triggers repair and regrowth of nerve fibers. These special healing cells are in a person’s bone marrow, and researchers can remove them and grow them in the lab.

The goal is to use these cells to reverse damage and bring back lost neurological functions.

This research is also promising to stop or slow the progression of diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s by protecting nerve fibers in the brain from further damage.

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