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In a report published last week in the British journal Nature, the researchers said severed spinal cord nerves in rats treated with the protein grew 11 millimetres, while severed nerves in untreated rats grew no more than 1 millimetre. 'The discovery shows that rats have the capacity for spinal cord nerve fibres that have been severed to jump the gap of a cut to send their fibres into the separated tissues in the spinal cord,' said Dr. Fred Plum, the head of neurology at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Centre

Because of the verbal, emotional, physical and sexual abuse reported, many students said they would have chosen another profession if they had known about what they regarded as avoidable, unnecessary and harmful forms of stress. Abuse was broadly defined in two reports, which were based on questionnaires. The major complaints involved repeated verbal insults, harassment and denigration by arrogant teachers and occasional physical attacks. In one of the studies, in which all students in an unidentified medical school were questioned, 46 percent said they had been abused at some time in medical school, and 80 percent of fourth-year students reported having been abused

Abuse and mistreatment of medical students are widespread and often leave long-lasting emotional scars that may affect their care of patients as physicians, new studies show

A team of scientists in Boston has discovered a defective gene that results in one form of retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited disorder that is a leading cause of blindness

Health officials in Minnesota said cheese may be a more important source of salmonella infections than scientists believe

Using a genetically engineered protein, Swiss researchers have succeeded in getting nerves in severed spinal cords of rats to grow again. The finding ultimately could lead to new clinical treatments to repair nerves damaged from accidents, strokes and a wide variety of degenerative nervous system diseases. In a report published yesterday in the British journal Nature, the researchers said severed spinal cord nerves in rats treated with the protein grew 11 millimeters, while severed nerves in untreated rats grew no more than 1 millimeter. The Swiss researchers discovered that the protein acted to offset naturally occurring inhibitory factors, which normally prevented significant nerve regeneration. The genetically engineered protein is a monoclonal antibody called IN-1. 'NEVER ACHIEVED BEFORE' ''The discovery shows that rats have the capacity for spinal cord nerve fibers that have been severed to jump the gap of a cut to send their fibers into the separated tissues in the spinal cord,' said Dr

Dr. Plum, an international leader in neurology, said the Swiss discovery ''represents the first giant step towards promoting nerve regeneration in disorders such as paraplegia from accidents, paralysis from stroke, and weakness and poor coordination due to nerve degeneration from diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Lou Gehrig's disease.'' When the genetically engineered protein was injected into the brains of two- to six-week-old rats, ''massive sprouting'' of nerve fibers occurred where the spinal cord had been cut, the researchers said. The scientists reported that within two to three weeks, nerve cells grew from 7 to 11 millimeters in the section of the spinal cord beyond the cut and toward the rat's tail. ''This is the first experiment to show directly that the cut nerves can jump the bridge on their own power and penetrate into the other side of the cut spinal cord,'' Dr. [Fred Plum] said. ''In terms of hope for the paraplegic and many other people with nervous system diseases, it is a major thing.''

''We have an open mind and we are trying to see if we can settle this one way or the other over the next several months,'' said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, who heads the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. ''If it is an important pathogen, then let's see what we can do about it. And if not, let's move on.'' ''The pathology data was solid and convinced us that the agent is in the tissues,'' Dr. [Joel B. Baseman] said. The ability of M. incognitus to cause a fatal wasting disease in monkeys and mice persuaded most participants that the microbe ''has the potential to cause disease in humans,'' Dr. Baseman said, although solid proof is lacking. Asked if M. incognitus by itself could cause a disease resembling AIDS, if not AIDS itself, Dr. [Lo] said: ''That's a good question. I don't know, and it will take a lot more work and time to answer it.''

A device that adds oxygen and removes carbon dioxide from the blood has been developed as a temporary artificial lung, ready for its first human tests. [Mortensen], Cardiopulmonics chairman, said the device could help patients recover from acute episodes of respiratory failure resulting from inhalation of smoke or noxious agents, drugs, severe pneumonia, and scores of other ailments. The device, which looks like twisted spaghetti, contains hundreds of thin-walled hollow tubes made of polypropylene, coated with a silicone, and dotted with tiny pores

The FDA has withdrawn its approval of the Jarvik-7 artificial heart because of deficiencies found in its manufacture