Good news about nerves
Nerves are often compared to insulated copper wire and, for decades, doctors sought ways to fix short circuits.

Treating a spinal cord injury could simply be a matter of reconnecting the "wires" and reversing the nerve damage in multiple sclerosis might be akin to replacing missing insulation.

Scientists at the Yale Neuroscience and Regeneration Research Center have gained deep insights into the complexity of nerves and how they function, and now consider protection and repair as promising as regeneration, but possibly easier to achieve.

Returning function to a nerve fiber is apt to be less difficult than inducing growth of an entirely new neuron and — even if successful for only some of the nerve fibers within the spinal cord — could be just as helpful, said Yale scientists at the facility, which is at the Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System in West Haven.

While remaining careful to avoid raising undue expectations among the 350,000 people with multiple sclerosis and the 250,000 with spinal cord injuries in the United States, the Yale and VA scientists are increasingly optimistic as a result of new research findings....