The Bright Side of the Glial Scar in CNS Repair

Overview

Journal Nat Rev Neurosci

Specialty Neurology

Date 2009 Feb 21

PMID 19229242

Citations 287

Authors

Asya Rolls

Ravid Shechter

Michal Schwartz

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Following CNS injury, in an apparently counterintuitive response, scar tissue formation inhibits axonal growth, imposing a major barrier to regeneration. Accordingly, scar-modulating treatments have become a leading therapeutic goal in the field of spinal cord injury. However, increasing evidence suggests a beneficial role for this scar tissue as part of the endogenous local immune regulation and repair process. How can these opposing effects be reconciled? Perhaps it is all a matter of timing.

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