WEDNESDAY, April 23 (HealthDay News) -- Chronic inflammation triggers cell fusions that may protect neurons, according to a Stanford University School of Medicine study.

In research with mice, the Stanford team found that chronic inflammation causes bone marrow-derived blood cells to migrate to the brain and fuse with a certain type of neuron 100 times more frequently than previously thought. After this fusion occurs, the blood-cell nuclei start to express previously silent, neuron-specific genes.

This surprise finding suggests that the creation of these fused cells (heterokaryons) may play a role in protecting neurons against damage, said the researchers, who added that it could help lead to cell-mediated gene therapy.

The study was published online in Nature Cell Biology.

"This finding was totally unprecedented and unexpected. We're getting hints that this might be biologically important, but we still have a lot to learn," senior author Helen Blau, director of the Baxter Laboratory in Genetic Pharmacology, said in a prepared statement.

Previous research showed that bone marrow-derived blood cells (which give risk to all the blood and immune cells in the body) did fuse with a variety of other cell types in the body. But this fusion occurred so rarely that it was believed to have little biological significance.

When inflammation causes bone marrow-derived stem cells to travel to the brain, they bind with Purkinje neurons located in the cerebellum. These neurons, which are involved in balance and motor control, form junctions between many other neurons. Purkinje neurons don't regenerate.

In this next phase of this research, Blau plans to investigate whether this kind of fusion can rescue damaged or dying Purkinje neurons.

More information

For more about neurons, visit the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

MONDAY, April 28 (HealthDay News) -- Patients having decompression surgery within 24 hours of a cervical spinal cord injury may have a better outcome than those who have the procedure later, according to new research.

Surgical decompression of the spinal cord involves the removal of various tissue or bone fragments that are being squeezed and comprising the spinal cord. While commonly done after an injury occurs, the timing of the procedure varies widely.

The study looked at 170 patients with cervical spinal cord injuries, graded as A (most several neurological involvement) to D (least severe), who underwent decompression surgery.

Six months after the surgery, 24 percent of the patients who had the surgery within 24 hours showed two-grade or greater improvement in their condition compared with only 4 percent in the group that had the surgery more than a day later.

"The initial results suggest that decompression within 24 hours of injury may be associated with improved neurological recovery at one-year follow-up. However, further recruitment of patients with long-term follow-up is necessary to validate these promising results," study author Michael Fehlings, head of the Krembil Neuroscience Center at the University Health Network in Toronto, said in a prepared statement.

Fehlings was expected to present the findings in Chicago April 28 at the annual meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

Every year, almost 12,000 people in the United States and Canada, mostly young adults, sustain a spinal cord injury. Although surgery, such as decompression, can help, these procedures often do not dramatically improve overall recovery and outcome.

"This is an area of medicine that has not seen tremendous scientific advances, so there remains an urgent need to improve upon current interventions to help restore neurological function in patients with acute (spinal cord injury)," said Fehlings, who is also professor of neurosurgery at the University of Toronto.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more about spinal cord injuries.

FRIDAY, April 25 (HealthDay News) -- Substances found in a type of Chinese ant may provide anti-inflammatory and painkilling benefits against several diseases, a new report says.

Chemists analyzing extracts from a Chinese medicinal ant, Polyrhacis lamellidens, found two polyketides, potent natural products that other studies have deemed as promising treatments for arthritis, bacterial infections and many other diseases. Polyketides are also found in plants, fungi and bacteria.

The findings, published in the April 25 issue of American Chemical Society's Journal of Natural Products, support Chinese folk medicine's practice of using ants as a health food or drink ingredient to treat conditions such as joint pain or hepatitis.

Researchers have long suspected this is due to substances in the ants, but the exact chemicals responsible for the medicinal effects have largely been unknown.

More information

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has more about alternative treatments for rheumatoid arthritis.