Sprouting, regeneration and circuit formation in the injured spinal cord: factors and activity

IC Maier, ME Schwab - … of the Royal Society B: Biological …, 2006 - royalsocietypublishing.org
IC Maier, ME Schwab
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B …, 2006royalsocietypublishing.org
Central nervous system (CNS) injuries are particularly traumatic, owing to the limited
capabilities of the mammalian CNS for repair. Nevertheless, functional recovery is observed
in patients and experimental animals, but the degree of recovery is variable. We review the
crucial characteristics of mammalian spinal cord function, tract development, injury and the
current experimental therapeutic approaches for repair. Regenerative or compensatory
growth of neurites and the formation of new, functional circuits require spontaneous and …
Central nervous system (CNS) injuries are particularly traumatic, owing to the limited capabilities of the mammalian CNS for repair. Nevertheless, functional recovery is observed in patients and experimental animals, but the degree of recovery is variable. We review the crucial characteristics of mammalian spinal cord function, tract development, injury and the current experimental therapeutic approaches for repair. Regenerative or compensatory growth of neurites and the formation of new, functional circuits require spontaneous and experimental reactivation of developmental mechanisms, suppression of the growth-inhibitory properties of the adult CNS tissue and specific targeted activation of new connections by rehabilitative training.
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