One molecule makes nerve cells grow longer. Another one
makes them grow branches. These new experimental manipulations have taken
researchers a step closer to understanding how nerve cells are repaired at
their farthest reaches after injury. The research was recently published in the
Journal of Neuroscience.
“If you injure a peripheral nerve, it will spontaneously
regenerate, but it goes very slowly. We’re trying to speed that up,” said Dr.
Jeffery Twiss, a professor and head of the biology department at Drexel
University in the College of Arts and Sciences, who was senior author of the
paper.