NEW YORK, July 25 (UPI) --
U.S. medical scientists have developed a new spinal cord therapy that helps the body permanently recover from such injuries.
Researchers at the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer
Research studied rats with crushed spinal cords. The scientists found
treatment soon after injury, combining radiation therapy to destroy
harmful cells and microsurgery to drain excess fluids, significantly
helped the body repair the injured cord.
The scientists, led by Nurit Kalderon, said their findings
demonstrate conventional clinical procedures hold promise for
preventing paralysis due to spinal cord injuries. Currently there is no
cure for human spinal cord injury.
"This research opens the door to developing a clinical
protocol for curing human spinal cord injuries using conventional
therapies," said Kalderon.
The study, supported by a grant from the National Institute of
Neurological Disorders and Stroke, appears in the online journal PLoS
One.
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