Stanford study first to show antibodies involved in nerve repair in injuries

Monday, June 14, 2010 - 14:00 in Health & Medicine

Antibodies -- warrior proteins the immune system makes to defend the body against invading pathogens such as viruses and bacteria - have a gentler side nobody knew about until now: They function not only as soldiers but also as nurses. And researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine now think antibodies' absence in the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) may be a key part of the reason why nerve damage there doesn't get naturally repaired in humans. That insight could someday lead to new treatments for stroke and spinal-cord trauma.

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