Abstract
Spinal cord injury (SCI) occurs with an annual frequency of ∼4 in 100 000 people in the USA. In the adult CNS there is little capacity for axonal regeneration, and the extent of recovery decreases as age at the time of SCI increases. One approach to the problem of SCI is to transplant fetal spinal cord tissue into the site of a spinal cord lesion. If this technique is combined with application of neurotrophins (molecules that promote neuronal growth) axonal regeneration within the host spinal cord is enhanced. Coumans et al. [ 1 Coumans J.V. et al. Axonal regeneration and functional recovery after complete spinal cord transection in rats by delayed treatment with transplants and neurotrophins. J. Neurosci. 2001; 21: 9334-9344 PubMed Google Scholar ] have discovered that axonal regeneration and functional recovery in the adult rat are further enhanced if fetal spinal cord tissue and neurotrophins are applied two to four weeks following injury.
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