Can we rebuild the spinal cord?
-
Interesting. The time-honored therapy of anti-inflammatory drugs (specifically steroids) has had marginal success, and that only in incomplete trauma to the spinal cord.
The use of electrical stimulation makes sense, if you accept the fact that neural tissue can regenerate - IOW, if it's dead, it's not really dead.
In Sinclair's book, Lifespan, he talks about using various epigenetic stimuli to regrow optic nerve tissue in frogs, with remarkable results.
Brave new world.
-
What we will have in 100 years will just astound us, much as what we have today would look like magic to those in 1920.
@Mik said in Can we rebuild the spinal cord?:
What we will have in 100 years will just astound us, much as what we have today would look like magic to those in 1920.
"OK, here's the plan. We're going to put these huge tubes into the aorta and vena cava. Then, we'll drain all of your blood out and run it through a pump which will cool your body temperature to about 80 degrees. And then, we'll stop your breathing and stop your heart and sew pieces of vein to the blocked arteries.
And here's the crazy part. Get this - we're gonna warm you back up. and run electricity through your heart to get it going again. You should be home in about 3 days."
-
Not really connected but saw this in a window in New York recently and thought it was kewl. A crystal reproduction of the vertebrae.
Would make an interesting gift.