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This story is from the category The Brain
Date posted: 04/10/2011 When a motor nerve is severely damaged, people rarely recover full muscle strength and function. Neuroscientists from Children's Hospital Boston, combining patient data with observations in a mouse model, now show why. It's not that motor nerve fibers don't regrow -- they can -- but they don't grow fast enough. By the time they get to the muscle fibers, they can no longer communicate with them. The study, published in the November issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation (online October 3) has immediate implications for patients with motor nerve injuries, including carpal tunnel syndrome, cubital tunnel syndrome, nerve damage caused by surgery and brachial avulsion injuries: Time is of the essence in repairing nerve damage. "There's a clock ticking, and if you're too late, the muscle cannot be functionally reactivated," says Clifford Woolf, Ph.D, senior investigator and director of the Program in Neurobiology and F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center at Children's Hospital Boston. "If there's muscle weakness, waiting six months to see if it gets better or worse before intervening may not be the best idea." See the full Story via external site: medicalxpress.com Most recent stories in this category (The Brain): 17/05/2013: Brain-Imaging Study Links Cannabinoid Receptors to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder —Findings Bring First Pharmaceutical Treatment for Ptsd Within Reach— |
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