Can new drug help paralysed to walk again?

A drug that can repair spinal injuries is being developed by US scientists has raised hope that paralysed people may be able to walk again.

An “unprecedented” study using rats discovered that some movement and bladder control can be restored using the medication, which comes in the form of a daily injection of a newly-developed chemical compound, the BBC reports. The study is published in the journal Nature.

The drug is said to disrupt the “sticky glue” that normally prevents nerve cells from growing during an injury. The team at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine were thrilled by the results of their study. "It was amazing," said lead researcher Professor Jerry Silver.

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Spinal injuries block the flow of electrical signals from the brain to the body. This can lead to the sufferer becoming paralysed below the location of a serious injury.

According to The Independent, there have been a succession of recent discoveries which have offered renewed hope to people paralysed by spinal injuries. Earlier this year, doctors revealed that a man in Poland with a severed spine was able to walk again as a result of treatment with an implant of regenerative cells.

The charity Spinal Research said that the latest announcement shows that “real progress” is being made in the field.