Scientist Identifies Protein That May Aid in Recovery from Spinal Cord Injury

Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found that a protein may provide insight to spinal cord healing and functional recovery. Many spinal cord injuries are disabling since the body cannot regenerate nerve fibers, requiring the body to reroute healthy tissue around the site of the injury. Researchers discovered that the p45 protein has a protective effect on healthy tissue. “If the freeway is down, but you can still take the side-streets, traffic can still move. So your strategy has to be to find a way to preserve as much tissue as possible, to give yourself a chance for that rerouting,” one researcher said. Click here to read the full story.