Axon-regenerating small molecules

Researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have identified compounds that can overcome the two main types of signals that inhibit axon growth in a damaged CNS.¹ The compounds reversed the effects of neurite outgrowth inhibitors in vivo, but the molecular targets of the compounds need to be determined before they advance into humans.

The inability of axons to regenerate in damaged neurons is caused in part by inhibitory myelin-associated glycoproteins and by inhibitory proteins such as chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) that are secreted by the glial scar that forms after an injury...