"Nerve cells don't regenerate." This saying is very popular among the people, but it cannot be considered 100% correct. It has long been proven that if the nucleus of a nerve cell is not damaged, its processes (axons) can be restored. Moreover, a new study by scientists from the University of Sheffield (UK) has led to the development of a new working method for the regeneration of nerve tissue cells that can save people from limb paralysis.
British scientists, using the data that nerve tissue cells located outside the brain can regenerate, have created a way to restore nerves using a special biological framework that includes growth factors (that is, substances through which development occurs) of the nervous fabrics. It consists of inert materials and is not rejected by the body. This scaffold helps the damaged areas heal faster by stimulating the growth and regeneration of the cells themselves.
Correctly installed framework "corrects" the growth of the nerve in the right direction, and thus it is possible to achieve restoration of even a significant part of the lost nerve. After the completion of the growth and development of the nerve, the biological scaffold is absorbed, and a second operation is not required to remove it. As the authors of the study themselves assure, “Our experiments have shown truly amazing results. Even after removing 2/3 of the nerve, we managed to restore its functions. The method we have created will fully restore sensitivity and even motor activity to paralyzed people."
Vladimir Kuznetsov