Stem cells regrow damaged nerves [View All]

STEM cells taken from mouse embryos have helped paralysed rats move again, US researchers said today.

The study was the best evidence so far that controversial embryonic stem cells might be used to treat people with spinal cord and other traumatic injuries, the researchers said.

"This study provides a 'recipe' for using stem cells to reconnect the nervous system," Dr Douglas Kerr of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine said in a statement.

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Writing in the Annals of Neurology, they said the transplanted cells, combined with the right mix of compounds, helped paralysed rats regrow some of their nerve cells and use their hind legs.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19528566-1702,00.html