American scientists have found three hormones that cause nerve endings to grow together. Using these hormones, they cured mice with partial paralysis after a stroke or spinal fracture.. Article by researchers from Harvard University published in the journal Neuron.

“When we introduced this cocktail into the brain of an animal, we saw two things - quite expected and unexpected. As we expected, axons began to grow in the spinal cord of animals. On the other hand, something similar began to occur in the subcortical space in the brain of mice.. How exactly this affects the restoration of mobility, we do not yet know, ”says Zhigang He from Harvard University (USA).

In recent years, scientists have achieved partial restoration of limb mobility in experiments on rats and mice, using electrical stimulation of the damaged part of the spinal cord and stem cell injections.. But such a recovery did not return the rodents full control over their limbs.. These techniques did not lead to the restoration of the so-called cortical axons - nerve endings connecting the centers of movement in the brain with the spinal cord..

He and his colleagues actually discovered by accident the first effective way to achieve full body mobility by experimenting with various hormones and signaling molecules..

The idea came to scientists while observing how the sight of mice is restored, in which the retina and other parts of the eye were damaged.. They noticed that eye cells secrete several proteins that cause nerve cells to form new endings and connect with surviving retinal receptors, resulting in partial or complete restoration of vision..

This discovery led scientists to believe that neurons in the spinal cord or even the brain could be forced to form new connections by forcibly turning on the IGF1 and OPN genes responsible for the production of these molecules.. Guided by this idea, biologists created a special retrovirus that performed a similar operation..

As shown by experiments on mice in which scientists partially cut the spinal cord or provoked an artificial stroke, the combination of this virus and the synthetic hormone 4-AP-3, which stimulates the growth of nerve endings, significantly accelerated and improved their recovery after injury..

Approximately three months after the start of treatment, the mice not only began to make reflex movements, but also consciously control the movement of their paws.. According to doctors, rodents climbed difficult stairs almost as deftly as their healthy relatives, making only 10% more mistakes..

The secret to this success, He notes, was adding 4-AP-3 to the virus..

He and his colleagues believe that such therapy could help many people regain the ability to move independently right now.. Now his team is looking for opportunities to conduct preclinical and clinical trials with volunteers..

aspect. net.