Welcome to this week’s Research Roundup. These Friday posts aim to inform our readers about the many stories that relate to animal research each week. Do you have an animal research story we should include in next week’s Research Roundup? You can send it to us via our Facebook page or through the contact form … Continue reading Research Roundup: Fishy feelings, young blood and Alzheimer’s disease and more!
Tag: spinal cord
Swiss scientists restore voluntary locomotion in paralysed rats.
A study published yesterday in the journal Science, in which a team of scientists led by Professor Gregoire Courtine at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology used a combination of electrical stimulation, drug treatment and a training regime that encouraged active participation to restore voluntary control of movement in paralysed rats, has received widespread media … Continue reading Swiss scientists restore voluntary locomotion in paralysed rats.
A paralyzed man stands again…thanks to animal research!
Yesterday an article appeared in the New York Times describing how scientists, supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, have used electrical stimulation of the lower spinal cord to enable a man who had been completely paralyzed below chest level to stand again, and even to take steps … Continue reading A paralyzed man stands again…thanks to animal research!
Transplanted astrocytes repair spinal cord damage in rat
A couple of weeks ago I discussed the launch of two clinical trials of brain machine interfaces designed to allow quadriplegic patients to control a newly designed prosthetic limb, during which I mentioned that scientists are also studying techniques that attempt to repair damage to spinal cords using stem cells. Several approaches have already shown … Continue reading Transplanted astrocytes repair spinal cord damage in rat
Of mice and mTOR: Can damaged spinal cords be taught to repair themselves?
There's an interesting story on the BBC website about new research on nerve cell regeneration after spinal cord damage in mice, work undertaken by a team led by Dr. Zhigang He of the F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center at Children's Hospital Boston. Those of you who follow developments on the field of spinal cord repair may … Continue reading Of mice and mTOR: Can damaged spinal cords be taught to repair themselves?
SR in Pennsylvania
October 21st - University of Pennsylvania I was invited to speak to the Lab Animal Club at the University of Pennsylvania, where I’d get the chance to interact with students working towards their qualificatioins in veterinary medicine. Veterinary medicine is one of the core areas where the world of animal research and the world of … Continue reading SR in Pennsylvania
Monkeys, Robots and the University of Pittsburgh – New hope for paralysis victims?
The day after Tom Holder spoke at the University of Pittsburgh about the importance of animal research, more news is coming from this academic institution. Every 45 seconds someone in the US gets a stroke, many are left paralyzed, furthermore 14,000 people every year suffer spinal cord injuries which may also result in paralysis. There … Continue reading Monkeys, Robots and the University of Pittsburgh – New hope for paralysis victims?