RATS WALK AGAIN!I saw this shown on TV. It really is exciting, but I wonder if this gets rid of the nerve pain also. Janice ----- Original Message ----- From: Akua To: tmic-list@eskimo.com Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 7:25 PM Subject: [TMIC] RATS WALK AGAIN!
" Reeve Foundation supported scientists at UCLA and the University of Zurich have been able to make rats with completely transected spinal cords recover to the point that they can step and fully support their own weight. This is a first! Rats in the study had completely severed spinal cords. They underwent a three-part intervention. Scientists gave the rats a combination of the drug quipazine, and then epidural electrical stimulation. This treatment activates the spinal cord's neural circuitry and makes it functional again. Then the rats were given locomotor training. The combination proved extremely effective. Within a relatively short period of time, the rats were walking again. The voluntary stepping of the rats on a treadmill was almost indistinguishable from their stepping prior to their spinal cord injury." --
