
Scientists have known since the 1800s what happens to a totally crushed peripheral nerve in animals: the damaged axons are broken down in a process called Wallerian degeneration, allowing healthy ones to regrow. But humans rarely suffer complete axonal damage. Instead, axons tend to be partially damaged, causing neuropathic pain — a difficult-to-treat, chronic pain associated with nerve trauma, chemotherapy and diabetes.
The lab of Michael Costigan, PhD, in Boston Children’s Hospital’s F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center is studying how the body’s immune system breaks down these damaged nerves. Their latest research, published today in Cell, may change our understanding of neuropathic pain and how to treat it.
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