Here's some Very Good News for dogs with hind-leg paralysis from the AP:
Dogs with paralyzed hind legs regained the ability to walk after getting a shot of a chemical cousin of antifreeze that helped repair nerve cells in their damaged spinal cords, scientists reported.Purdue University researchers who led the project hope the approach can soon be tried in people, but caution that there are significant differences between human and canine spinal cords.
The treatment only worked on dogs given the injections within about three days of their injury. Some dogs not given the injections eventually walked again, but those getting the new treatment had a dramatically higher recovery rate.
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In the study, 19 paraplegic dogs were injected with polyethylene glycol, or PEG - a nontoxic liquid polymer composed of long strings of the same type of molecules found in antifreeze.
Within eight weeks, 13 of the 19 canines, about 68 percent, regained the use of their hind legs and were able to walk, some almost as well as before their injury.
The dogs were injected twice with PEG, first soon after their owners brought them to the researchers' labs and then after standard surgery and steroids to reduce inflammation.