In a Break with Dogma, Myelin Boosts Neuron Growth in Spinal Cord Injuries

http://www.newswise.com/articles/in-a-break-with-dogma%2C-myelin-boosts-neuron-growth-in-spinal-cord-injuries

Recovery after severe spinal cord injury is notoriously fraught, with permanent paralysis often the result. In recent years, researchers have increasingly turned to stem cell-based therapies as a potential method for repairing and replacing damaged nerve cells. They have struggled, however, to overcome numerous innate barriers, including myelin, a mixture of insulating proteins and lipids that helps speed impulses through adult nerve fibers but also inhibits neuronal growth…