by: Dr. Larry Sosna
Regrowth of neurons… also called Neuro-Regeneration is one of the most complicated
issues in the field of medical/science. The subject matter concerns the repair and
regrowth of nerve cells called neurons. The long body of the neuron is called the Axon.
This issue is divided into two imperative groups…. Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
and the Central Nervous System (CNS) characterized by the brain and spinal cord.
When I took High School Biology the teacher made a clear and emphatic
statement. Central Nervous System neurons NEVER heal. He went on to state, that
Peripheral Neurons do heal but slowly. In Biology and Biochemistry at undergraduate
work in college both professors made the exact same statement my high school biology
teach made almost by rote. Never one to fully agree with such absolute matters in
science my questions were so penetrating and complex as to be unanswerable which
gained respect by one Professor and benign neglect from the second Professor
PNS has a method of regeneration to the injured neurons followed by the quick release
of white blood cells to fight infection. Schwann cells release neurotropic factors which
enhance regrowth of PNS neurons in several ways. The Schwann cells, prevent to
much cytotoxicity which is generally part of the healing process but illicit’s far to much
inflammation for regeneration to proceed normally. Schwann cells, also set up tubes
along side the damaged neuron. These tubes are even connected to the injured
degraded PNS neuron and a host of healing biochemicals are release by the tube to
stop neural degradation and provide healing repair to the affected injured neuron.
There are a host of outside interventions that can make this process go faster but I will
save them for Regeneration of the brain and spinal cord, which please remember is
still thought in many universities even taught to this day that CNS neurons cannot
Regeneration and Repair of the Central Nervous System (Brain and Spinal Cord. There
are two types of cells meant to serve and protect CNS neurons from injury. They are
called Astrocytes and Gllial cells. It may be hard to believe but there are many more
astrocytes in the brain then there are brain Neurons and there are some 15 to 18 billion
brain neurons. Normally, after injury to brain neurons…astrocytes support neurons by
providing antioxidant protection.
The Good the Bad and the Ugly
While the Astrocytes bring in many antioxidants to prevent free radical oxidative toxic
damage to the brain neurons…they also over-react and allow for too much inflammation
and cytotoxins from white blood cell production of Interleukin-2 and 6… this is called up-
regulation of immune cell activity. It can destroy brain neurons faster then the initial
injury to a brain or spinal neurons. This process
brings about even more inflammation to try and carry away all of the dead cells,
including neurons and astrocytes as well as white blood cell waste deposits.
Unfortunately the brain is limited in size and to much inflammation causes intracranial
pressure to the point where brain infarct is possible without making a surgical opening in
the cranium to release the pressure….that is the bad and the ugly.
How do we solve the above dire situation and bring about brain cell neuron
In some cases like bacterial or viral Encephalitis of the brain and spinal cord
many neurons can be killed or injured due to massive white blood cell
proliferation. The white blood cells kill the bacteria and virus that causes
Encephalitis but the situation is so dramatic that in order for the brain to survive
the infection killing neurons…the message which signals the white blood cells to
enter the brain becomes so up-regulated that cannot down-regulate to a normal
response thus further killing both infected neurons and the infected brain cells
both. Many people die from this berserk super up-regulated immune response
stuck on full throttle. It is a vicious repetitive cycle.
We can stop this deathly cycle by giving the patient large intravenous doses of
Gamma Globulin. Gamma Globulin consists of every type of antibody the human
body can make. Scientists are not exactly certain how and why this has such a
profound normalizing effect immunologically but it does. It is called Immuno-
modulation to the normal set point.
In both Stroke patients and infection based Encephalitis of the brain… Immuno-
Modulation to a normal set point is a must in order for neuron cell death to stop and for
Certain biochemical factors play a vital role to decrease astrocytes! Cyclin Kinase
decreases astrocyte proliferation, increasing neuron function and recovery. Caffeic acid,
alpha- melanocyte stimulating hormone and cliostazol are all highly beneficial. They are
considered essential to a improved condition by reducing astrocyte production…this
treatment shows a decrease in neuron injury, the decrease in astrocyte high levels of
production is associated with a more positive and improved outcome moving toward
In 1984, I experienced a life/death illness called Herpetic Viral Encephalitis. It was
misdiagnosed my Manhattans most elite doctors…virtually always fatal, I lived and due
to the fact the death rate is so nearly complete I spent 3 years in bed and several more
in a wheel chair. There was no internet, no smart phones, just a nearly destroyed brain
with pain so blinding it felt as if two ice picks were being run through both eyes… and
trying to escape by pushing through the back of my skull. Luckily for me the feelers I
sent out daily… resulted in a call from Nobel prize winning doctor and scientist, Dr. Rita
Levi Montalcini who won the Nobel Prize for the discovery of Embryonic Fetal Nerve
Growth Factor in 1986. I was the first human to ever get shots of Fetal Nerve Growth
Factor in 1988 to grow back and regenerate my damaged brain neurons. Then this
magnificent woman became my mentor….I still live speaking to her shadow everyday as
she passed over at the age of almost 104.
Rita Levi-Montalcini’s discovery of a protein called ‘fetal nerve growth factor,”
which fosters the growth of nerve fibers and also plays a role in the brain and the immune
system, is one of the most important steps taken so far toward understanding how the
fantastically complex system of nerves is laid down and linked to the tissues in a developing
embryo. Her account of the adventures leading to this discovery, for which she won a Nobel
Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1986, has a special contemporary interest. We now
know her discovery is how the brain grows all of it’s neurons when one is an embryo inside
one’s mothers womb until birth and sustains, protects and regenerates brain neurons if one
is fortunate to be born with a large amount of FNGF . Thank goodness she was able to scale
it up through a deal with a large cutting edge biotechnology lab. in Montreal. They are the
ONLY Lab. in the world to this day that makes Dr. Rita’s original formulations.
We at AA,I are indeed incredibly fortunate to be able to have access to her formulations at
I combined her fetal nerve growth factors with very youthful blood levels of HGH (human
growth hormone…levels that would be normal for the average healthy 16 year old. Eighteen
months later, I was completely better in every way… brain regeneration wise… and in every
other health manner. The addition of HGH was my inspiration as it has been known for
many decades that it is HGH which mobilizes all of the fetal tissue growth factors such as
cardiac tissue growth factor…to do protein synthesis and thus regeneration of the heart
AND all other tissues contained within the human body. Without youthful blood levels of
HGH(say blood levels normal for a healthy 26 year old to 30 year old) and credible levels of
fetal nerve growth factor… regrowth of Neurons is unlikely in the extreme BUT with these
safe and effective blood levels of both Regrowth of every type of Neuron is probable in and
that brings amazing hope. The only Regrowth we cannot master yet is CNS spinal cord cut
in half…but the army medical scientists are getting very close.
Imagine how old we would all look, if we did not have adequate cell levels of
epithelial (skin tissue growth factor) to regenerate our SKIN? So, just like
hormones, as we age we lose our tissue growth factors…and if they cannot be
replaced to the optimal level from exogenous sources we will all be subject to
the ravages of age related illness.
Gratefully, here at AAI we have all critical tissue growth factors available to
you, our beloved family of clients.
Kindly, Larry Sosna PhD HHP
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