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IPFS News Link • Science, Medicine and Technology

Human neurons implanted in mice plug into spinal cord to help heal injury

• http://newatlas.com, Michael Irving

Difficulties with walking may seem like the most obvious symptom of spinal cord injury, but according to a 2004 study, bladder control was ranked as the top priority for treatment by almost 20 percent of paraplegics, and 10 percent of quadriplegics. Like chronic pain, loss of bladder control is a symptom of inflammation following spinal injury, which damages inhibitory spinal circuits that use the neurotransmitter, gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA). When GABA is lessened, the spine's ability to inhibit pain and control bladder function decreases.

The UCSF team wanted to test whether implanting human cells that produce GABA into mice with spinal cord injuries could reroute the damaged circuits, and whether that could help address pain and improve bladder control. To do so, they transplanted immature human GABA-producing cells into mice two weeks after they sustained an injury to the thoracic spinal cord, with the injection site being below the inflamed area caused by the injury.


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