Superman?

When Christopher Reeve promises he'll walk
away from his wheelchair one day, you might think he's talking
comic-book reality. But the fact is that scientists are learning how to help the
central nervous system repair itself.[Posted Sept. 12, 1996]
spine diagram

Before we look at the regeneration of spinal nerves, let's get up to date on the man who's put a human face on paralysis.

Cast off your crutches? Last summer, for the first time in history, the severed spinal cord of an adult mammal grew across a gap.

The cat's meow? Researchers in Florida are repairing cats' spinal cords with fetal feline nerve cell grafts.

Here are more ideas for putting spinal cords back in business.

Still, it's not a great time to be paralyzed. Here are some of the obstacles (can't exactly call them roadblocks any longer!) to healing spinal cord injuries.

And here's a look at the experts and quasi-experts who brought you this nervy news.

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