Summary:
- As we age, our spinal cord's ability to recover from injuries changes in unexpected ways. Younger spinal cords can more easily regenerate and repair damaged nerve connections, but older spinal cords lose this capacity over time.
- Researchers found that the spinal cord's immune cells, called microglia, become less effective at supporting nerve regrowth as we age. This impairs the spinal cord's ability to heal and recover function after an injury.
- Understanding how aging impacts spinal cord injury recovery is crucial for developing better treatments and rehabilitation strategies, especially for older adults who experience these types of injuries.