Popular belief has it that nerve and brain cells cannot regenerate. The reason lies on the substance called glutamate, produced as part of the body's natural reaction to central nervous system damage. It causes permanent cell death and prevents the repair of damaged nerve connections. A study published yesterday in the Journal of Neuroscience Research, however, shows how a protein called KDI tri-peptide (KDI) can block the harmful effects of glutamate and allow nerve cells to regenerate.

When KDI was injected into the spines of paralized rats, the rats were able to bear weight and walk again after only 3 months. The KDI's ability to prevent nerve cell death and promote regeneration was also observed in in vitro tests using human brain cells.

"One of the wonderful things about this is that Dr. Liesi's discoveries are ready now for prime-time testing in patients. We do not have to go through a long drug development procedure that might take 10 years," said George Martin, Ph.D., former scientific director for the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health.

Since KDI occurs naturally in some form in the body, researchers do not believe it will have major toxic side effects. None have been noted during their work to date.

Dr. Victor Krauthamer, Ph.D., a research scientist at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said:

"I am excited by the potential clinical uses of KDI and by the prospect of clinical testing. If these results play out in further trials, and there is a true treatment for a variety of currently untreatable neurological diseases, this could be one of the greatest discoveries in treating neurological conditions in the last 50 years."

Read the press release here or the J. Neuroscience Research article here (requires subscription).