Animals in a new study regained bladder control thanks to a new treatment that coaxes severed nerves to grow. Scientists have tried for decades to use transplants of nerve cells to restore function in paralysed animals by bridging the gap in the broken spinal cord. If we can show in a larger animal that our technique works and does no additional harm I see no reason why we couldn't move rapidly in humans Dr Jerry Silver, Case Western Reserve Medical School, Cleveland, Ohio 
 
 US scientists carried out complex surgery to transplant nerves from the rodents' ribs into the gap in the middle of their spinal cord. The problem has been the scar tissue around the original wound, which tends to be extensive, and the scar tissue that will inevitably form from yet another surgery at the site of the graft. They also used a special "glue" that boosts cell growth together with a chemical that breaks down scar tissue in an attempt to encourage the nerve cells to regenerate and connect up. They said that while the rats did not regain the ability to walk, they did recover some bladder function. Surveys have shown that bladder control, along with bowel control, ranks as one of the highest priorities for recovery of the spinal cord injury community where the spine is totally severed (aside from, obviously, regaining control of limbs).
– Neuroscientists working with rats have pulled off a feat raising hopes that paralyzed people might someday be able to regain control of their bladders and ditch the catheter. The scientists grafted nerves from elsewhere in the rats' bodies to their severed spinal cords, and the rats eventually were able to pee again almost as well as healthy rats, reports Science News. The rats were not able to walk again, and while they didn't regain full control of their bladders, the study is still "an astonishing breakthrough for the field," writes Liat Clark at Wired. Any similar research on humans is still years away because the results must first be replicated on animals bigger than rats, reports the BBC. Previous attempts to regenerate nerves on damaged spinal cords were stymied by scar tissue at the site of the original injury. The scientists were able to overcome that by using an enzyme to break down the scar tissue, in tandem with a growth factor that helped the transplanted nerves grow. "This is one of the most important steps that I have seen in recent years,” says an Oslo neuroscientist not involved with the study.