- There are over 10,000 spinal cord injuries suffered per year, leaving a $250,000 per year debt to such victims and their families.
- Although the central nervous system is incapable of self regeneration, research is scrambling to discover ways of initiating such regeneration.
- It is now known that the nervous system has the capability of being tailored to achieve some nerve fiber growth.
- Ultimately, a combination of study breakthroughs is what will lead to a better quality of life for those once sentenced with a life of physical, emotional, and financial hardships.
The repair or regrowth of nerve cells or cell products or nervous tissues is a process known as neuroregeneration. Injuries to the nervous system have affected more than 90,000 people each year. It is approximated that 10,000 injuries per year are related to the spinal cord. With such a high occurrence of such injuries, studies dedicated to nerve cells regeneration are rapidly growing.
Research is destined to discover various ways to recover nerve cell function post traumatic injury. The peripheral nervous system consists of cranial and spinal nerves and has the ability for self-repair and regeneration. The central nervous system, which involves the brain and spinal cord, is incapable of self regeneration. The research for nerve cells regeneration of the central nervous system is in high gear across the globe due to the magnitude of yearly injuries.
Nerve cells generally grow when young and stop at maturity. If an injury occurs, nerve cells regeneration is impossible on its own if the trauma is related to the central nervous system. There is a short amount of time just following injury when there is a chance for growth through and beyond the lesion. If too much time passes, the cells will return back to a normal non-growing state. Thus, scar tissue will begin forming. This means that the nervous system has the capability of being tailored to a point that we may accomplish some nerve fiber growth. It is part of nerve fibers research that studies the regeneration possibilities of spinal cord nerve cells as well as other types of post injury nerve cells regeneration.
With much nerve fibers research, the regeneration of spinal cord nerve cells is greatly studied with positive results and accomplishments. The traumatic accident of actor Chrisopher Reeve back in 1995 gave way to a country’s attention of spinal cord injuries. There has been an array of scientific advances in perceiving the effects such injuries have on the human body. A person suffering from spinal cord trauma may expect expenses exceeding $250,000 per year, thus placing a tremendous financial hardship on such individuals as well as their families. A patient with intense and traumatic injuries to the central nervous system will have a life sentence of physical, emotional, and financial suffering.
The optimal expectation of central nerve cell damage studies is to find an avenue of recovery rather than dressing the problem as a bandage to a wound. Since scientists have realized that nerve cells of the spinal cord will replenish under some conditions, there has been new hype of injury cures with cautious optimism. In fact, studies have discovered neural prostheses which will replace some functions lost from a spinal cord injury. A complete cure or drastic discovery will not be accomplished by one or two studies. A combination of breakthroughs is what will add a better life for an individual suffering with such debilitating injuries. With every research and studies, further breakthroughs are being discovered. There is now more hope than ever that trauma to the central nervous system can be repaired so such victims of these injuries will have a better quality of life.
Tags: nerve cells regeneration, nerve fibers research, spinal cord nerve cells
