Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, have successfully regenerated spinal nerves in rat that had undergone complete severing of the spinal cord. This adds to the hope that a clinical therapy to improve neurological function in patients with spinal cord injury could be developed.

Michal Schwartz and colleagues used a novel technique that involves applying macrophages-white blood cells necessary for the successful healing of damaged tissue-to the transected nerves. Prior to injection into the lesion site of the spinal cord, the macrophages were exposed to segments of rat peripheral nerve ex vivo.

Treated animals showed a significant recovery of limb movement. Furthermore, electrical stimulation on the spinal cord caused movement in several muscles of the hind limb and histological analysis revealed that the severed cord was re-connected after the procedure.

The researchers suggest that this method of injecting autologous macrophages into the site of spinal cord injury may have clinical potential in treating paraplegia.