No one has yet come close to figuring out all secrets of the human spinal cord. We do know that the spinal cord is the body’s largest nerve. The average spinal cord is about 18 inches long, running from the base of the brain to about waist level, and contains nerve fibers that send two-way communications between the brain and musculoskeletal system.

Disrupt those communications and the body will lose sensory and motor functions below the break—apparently forever.

Spinal cord nerve cells do not regenerate. As yet, scientists do not know why this is true. They do know that the brain produces some type of chemical growth inhibitor—or inhibitors—once the spinal cord is fully formed in a human fetus.

One such inhibitor is a protein found in myelin, the fatty material that sheaths and insulates the nerve cells in of the spinal cord.

If scientists could find some way to block the action of that protein—and any other inhibitors—they might someday stimulate the regrowth of nerve cells. For neuroscientists, regeneration of damaged nerve cells is much like the mythical quest for the Holy Grail.

As many as 500,000 people in the United States live with spinal cord injuries. Most are male—by a four to one margin. Most were between 16 and 30 years of age at the time of their accident. About 80 percent were between 16 and 45.

Each of these individuals has been forced to endure dramatic life changes. Unfortunately, an additional 10,000 people join their ranks each and every year. —Lindsey Michaels

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