In human beings, damage to the brain or spinal cord is usually irreversible. Understanding why the nerve cells there cannot repair or replace themselves might lead to long-awaited treatments for brain damage
CHILDREN who suffer a prolonged shortage of oxygen at birth may be brain damaged. Young people who break their necks in skiing or motorcycling accidents may sever their spinal cords. Old people may fall victim to a stroke: a blocked artery or burst blood vessel in the brain, which kills brain tissue by depriving it of oxygen. All face the loss of abilities the rest of us take…
