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Easing the brakes on spinal cord repair

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The inability of axons to regenerate in the injured spinal cord leads to permanent paralysis. The discovery and cloning of Nogo, one of the axon growth inhibitors in myelin, was a major step in understanding the failure of axon regeneration. Subsequent work identifying the Nogo receptor and associated signaling factors has renewed optimism for the development of treatments to ease the brakes on axon regeneration after spinal cord trauma.

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Figure 1: The Edwin Smith surgical papyrus.

Courtesy of The New York Academy of Medicine Library

Figure 2: Molecular targets to promote regeneration in the CNS.

Deborah Maizels

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McKerracher, L., David, S. Easing the brakes on spinal cord repair. Nat Med 10, 1052–1053 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1004-1052

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