Sentences with phrase «of glial scars»

Not exact matches

Co-author Ken Poss of Duke University said that, in mammals, glial cells have traditionally been thought of as the scar - causing cells that present a roadblock for spinal cord repair.

In addition to inflammation, previous microelectrode brain implants made of silicon or microwire have caused neuronal death and glial scarring, which is damage to connective tissue in the nervous system.

«The most obvious function of glial cells has been related to their role in forming scar tissue to prevent the spread of injury and neuronal degeneration, but so much about their role in the brain is unknown.»

«For 20 years, we have been applying technologies to prevent glial scarring in hopes of promoting nerve fiber regeneration, repair and recovery, but never observed a positive effect,» said Sofroniew, a professor of neurobiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Doctors have long figured that the major roadblock to recovery was the scar tissue formed by a type of glial cells called astrocytes.

«There are more reactive glial cells and fewer functional neurons in the injury site,» Chen said, «so we hypothesized that we might be able to convert glial cells in the scar into functional neurons at the site of injury in the brain.

Dr. Ding will soon begin to use regenerative medicine to transform these inhibitory glial cells into a non-inhibitory CNS cell type, eliminating the field of scar tissue and permitting the transmission of axonal signals.

hGDAsCNTF also expressed high levels of neurite - outgrowth inhibitory chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans, phosphacan and CSPG4, as well as the transcription factor Olig2 - all of which have been found to be upregulated in glial scar associated astrocytes.

For more than a century, scientists thought that glial cells were responsible for scar formation; now, however, a paper published in Science shows that spinal cord scar tissue largely derives from a completely unexpected type of cell called a pericyte, opening new opportunities for the treatment of damaged nerve tissue.Lesions to the brain or spinal cord rarely heal fully, which leads to permanent functional impairment.

The key goal of therapy during the acute stage is to reduce the scar tissue within the damaged spinal cord «glial scar» that may impede future healing.