Completely severed spinal cord healed with gene therapy

What's the news: Scientists used gene therapy to completely heal severed spinal cords in mice.

Why should we believe it: This news is based on a new paper published last week by scientists at EPFL, Harvard, and UCLA. The scientists started by observing natural healing that happens in partial spinal cord injuries.

They then used these insights to develop a complex and targeted gene therapy that mimicked this natural healing. The result was that even completely severed spinal cords in mice were healed, and the mice were able to walk again.

Why this is a big deal: When the spinal cord is damaged in mice or humans, initial paralysis is followed by healing and gradual recovery of function. But in the case of completely severed spinal cords, natural repair does not occur and there is no recovery. In fact, there is no known cure or therapy for a completely severed spinal cord — until now.

So what's next: Several scientists working on this program are part of .NeuroRestore, a Swiss research center that's working on therapeutic approaches for treatment of acute spinal cord injuries. In other words, we can hope to see this present mouse breakthrough extended to humans in the coming years.