Watch Paralyzed Dogs Walk Again After Nose Cell Transplants

Monday, November 19, 2012 - 16:01 in Biology & Nature

Paralyzed Dog Elemer, a 9 year old Border Collie, used a cart to walk prior to surgery. He was the lab's second patient. Cambridge Veterinary SchoolScientists in the UK injected dogs with cells grown from the lining of their noses, which continually regenerates. For the past few years, scientists at Cambridge University have been working with dogs who were paralyzed in accidents to test therapies and new cell treatments that reverse the damage. A new study shows that their methods can work, restoring dogs' ability to walk by using cells grown from the lining of the animals' noses. In the study, 23 dogs with transplanted cells were able to walk again. These are called olfactory ensheathing cells, and they surround olfactory neurons that allow us to smell. These are the only part of the body where nerve cells continually regenerate in adults, and as such they've long been a promising target for...

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