A pioneering technique performed on lab rats has shown the potential to bypass spinal cord injuries. Scientists cut away a nerve that normally stretches into the body to control abdominal muscles. By reconnecting that nerve to the spine below the injury rats showed an increase in movements of previously paralyzed limbs.

John Martian, a neuroscientist at Columbia University in New York, told the Guardian “What we’ve documented is that we’ve reconnected the nervous system above the injury with below the injury in a robust way.” The newly attached nerves grew well and returned partial movement to paralyzed body parts. He also commented that nerve cells, which control sensation or feeling unfortunately do not show the same encouraging results.

While reconnecting a single nerve will not be enough to restore all lost functions, it would allow an improvement to improve quality of life.

Hopefully we will see more about this in the next few years.

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