Nerve regeneration and preventing muscle wastage

This research was completed on 12 January 2005

Project Leader	Dr Gary R Coulton BSc PhD and Dr Giorgio Terenghi BSc PhD MRCPath
Location	Biochemistry and Cardiological Sciences, St George's Hospital Medical School, London and Blond McIndoe Research Laboratories, The University of Manchester.
Grant awarded	26 October 2000
Start date	1 January 2001
End date	12 January 2005
Grant amount	£128,577.00
Grant code	SP3656

Poor regrowth of nerves and the difficulty of re-establishing the nerve connection with muscles mean that one consequence of nerve injury is muscle wasting and weakness. It is the general objective of this project to improve nerve regeneration in order to reduce the time that a muscle is without nerve support, hence avoiding the muscle tissues wasting away. This team will test the affect of applying growth factors (small proteins that promote survival and regeneration of nerve cells) to damaged nerves and identify those factors which appear to act specifically on weight bearing muscles and their nerve cells.