Re: MED/NEURO: Human trials of spinal nerve regeneration in ~1 year?

J. R. Molloy (jr@shasta.com)
Sun, 12 Sep 1999 11:26:41 -0700

Greg Burch wrote,
>Anyone know more details about this outfit? A stock play?

Scientific American cites Proneuron Biotechnologies Ltd., not as an Israeli firm, but as a New York one:

<<Schwartz believes, in contrast to Kalderon's theory, the central nervous system of mammals prevents immune cells from carrying out a function that is essential to recovery. Perhaps, she suggests, mammals have evolved a way of suppressing immune system activity in the central nervous system in order to avoid damaging inşammation that could disrupt mental functioning. The suppression might have a net benefit except in serious injuries. Schwartz maintains that she has identified a previously unknown molecule in the central nervous system that causes immune suppression, and an affiliate of the Weizmann Institute has licensed her system for spinal cord regrowth to a start-up firm in New York City, Proneuron Biotechnologies. >>

But the Daily News cites it as Israeli:

<<Israel's "Proneuron Biotechnologies" company is on the verge of a major medical discovery in the treatment of neurological conditions. The company reports that recent tests have shown that its activated immune cell therapies promoted regrowth of severed nerve fibers, and protected nerve cells from secondary damage triggered by an initial injury. In the company's immune cell therapy, the subject's own immune cells are removed, activated and returned to the central nervous system, where they stimulate healing...
>>