Word: functional
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Since 1990, about 100 paralyzed patients have been given 4-AP in clinical trials, and about one-third of them have regained some function. Keith Hayes, a neuroscientist at the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada, who has been involved in the trials, says, "We have seen improvements in sensation and motor function, reduced spasticity and reduced pain, and improvement in bowel, bladder and sexual functions." MS researchers may come up with yet another useful therapy for spinal-cord injuries. At the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Dr. Moses Rodriguez is testing the use of antibodies as catalysts...
...will be running the 100, but they do believe patients will be able to feed themselves, use the bathroom on their own and lead fairly independent lives. Interestingly, Young says there is little evidence to suggest that the longer paralysis lasts, the worse are the chances of recovering some function. "It's important that patients not allow their muscles to atrophy," says Young. "I usually tell people that we have nothing yet to give you, but if I were you I'd start an exercise program to keep my body in good shape so that when the therapies come...
...brain and weave down the spinal cord, eventually connecting with other nerves that branch to muscles as distant as the toes, are torn and stripped of their protective fatty coat of myelin. The myelin sheath is like the rubber coating on electrical wire. Without it, the nerves cannot function...
...turning muscles are controlled by nerves emerging from the brain, not the spinal cord.) Now, a year later, he is able to shrug his shoulders and breathe on his own for lengthening periods of time, which means that his first, second, third and fourth cervical nerves have begun to function again...
...approach other scientists had tried in various forms for nearly 30 years, with little success. But this time, according to a report published last week in Science, it worked. Not only did the severed nerve fibers grow across the bridge, but the rats also began to regain function in their lifeless limbs...