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ED JACKSON<br />
dislocated his C6-C7<br />
vertebrae, shattering<br />
the disc and severing<br />
his spinal cord<br />
BEN TANSLEY’s<br />
T4 vertebrae<br />
exploded, sending<br />
shrapnel into his<br />
spinal cord<br />
Lumbar nerves<br />
L1-L5<br />
Communicate<br />
between the brain<br />
and legs<br />
C3<br />
C4<br />
C5<br />
C6<br />
C7<br />
T1<br />
T2<br />
T3<br />
T4<br />
T5<br />
T6<br />
T7<br />
T8<br />
T9<br />
T10<br />
T11<br />
T12<br />
L1<br />
L2<br />
L3<br />
L4<br />
L5<br />
Cervical nerves<br />
C1-C8<br />
Control the head<br />
and neck<br />
NATHALIE McGLOIN<br />
shattered her<br />
C6-C7 vertebrae<br />
Thoracic nerves<br />
T1-T12<br />
Control the upper<br />
back, chest<br />
and abdomen<br />
Coccyx<br />
Sacrum<br />
Sacral nerves<br />
S1-S5<br />
Extensive functions<br />
throughout the<br />
pelvis and legs<br />
Spinal map<br />
no previous neurological recovery in over four years of<br />
rehabilitation. “It’s an amazing feeling,” says one patient,<br />
David Mzee. He was told in 2010 he’d never walk again. Last<br />
year, he walked 390m of the Wings for Life World Run.<br />
Others are trying to help regrow axons. Professor Martin<br />
Schwab of the University of Zurich discovered that axon<br />
regrowth was being blocked by unhelpful growth inhibitors<br />
dubbed ‘Nogo proteins’. When he deactivated them with the<br />
help of antibodies – effectively turning the traffic lights from<br />
red to green – new axons sprouted. Wings for Life is now<br />
funding his research, as well as that of Yale’s Dr Stephen<br />
Strittmatter, who has developed an injectable interceptor<br />
molecule – dubbed the ‘Nogo trap’ – which masks these<br />
inhibitors, leaving axons free to grow.<br />
Full human trials take years to complete, but each new project<br />
represents progress. Nevertheless, red herrings abound, so<br />
it’s handy that Wings for Life researcher Professor Michael<br />
Sofroniew of UCLA is a fan of detective fiction. He has restored<br />
the reputation of glial cells – tiny ‘bodyguards’ that protect<br />
neurons – which for decades were regarded as problematic.<br />
Although they help form a healing scar after an SCI, this was<br />
believed to hamper regrowth, but Professor Sofroniew found<br />
that, by adding a hydrogel of growth-promoting factors, the<br />
scar actually supports it. “Scientists, just like detectives, look<br />
for clues and go against the most obvious answers,” he<br />
explains. Wings for Life will always encourage novel thinking,<br />
says Dr May: “Unlike most government institutions, we can<br />
fund highly original projects and think outside the box.”<br />
THE RED BULLETIN 65
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