In the spinal cord, the cavities that form after an injury don't close up, leaving gaps that regenerating nerve fibers can't cross. The scientists also discussed strategies that are under development to fill in the cavities with tissue that would stimulate nerve fiber regeneration. Such cells could be harvested from the body, amplified in a lab, and then used to fill in such cavities. It could even be possible to stimulate these cells to become nerve cells. But there are other problems to solve as well, Steward noted.
Inhibitory molecules prevent nerve growth.
Also, the nerve cells themselves no longer make the molecules that they did when they were actively growing during early development. We could make a key discovery tomorrow, or it could take years. The scientists agreed, however, that important new treatments for spinal cord injury are on the horizon.