The World, a public radio news program, featured comments by Kessler Foundation’s Susan Harkema, PhD, in an interview covering an experimental treatment in Brazil designed to regenerate damaged spinal cords. Dr. Harkema is the Foundation’s director of Consortium Growth for Spinal Stimulation in the Tim and Caroline Reynolds Center for Spinal Stimulation. 

The Brazilian approach involves injecting a protein called polylaminin, which is designed to stimulate neuron regeneration. Dr. Harkema was not involved in the research for this experimental therapy. Still, she emphasized that while early results may be encouraging, significant work remains before such advances can become broadly accessible to people with disabilities.