Leonor Saúde Lab

Spinal Cord Regeneration & Tissue Microenvironment

Spinal cord injuries in humans render patients with permanent impairments due to lack of regeneration. In contrast, the zebrafish spinal cord has an amazing ability to recover from injuries, allowing these fish to swim again. In zebrafish, a spinal cord injury promotes proliferation of neural stem cells that reside in the spinal cord, and the same is probably true in mammals. Yet, the mammalian spinal cord microenvironment strongly suppresses regeneration, while the zebrafish supports it.

Our lab is fully committed to understand the biology of the tissue microenvironment of an injured spinal cord in a regenerating animal (i.e. the zebrafish) and in a non-regenerating animal (i.e. the mouse).

We believe that if we create a permissive microenvironment that favours regeneration, like the one in zebrafish, we will be able to improve considerably the motor and sensitive impairments that arise from a spinal cord injury in mammals.

Find us on Instagram @lsaudelab

Neuropal – Online game about safety and the nervous system

Neuropal aims to help recognise risky situations and adopt safe behaviours that may prevent serious injuries, while also exploring the anatomy of the nervous system and the important functions it performs.

The game takes us on an adventure with two friends, Neuropal and Neuro, vacationing on a tropical paradise where unexpected events force everyone to escape. Neuropal will have to move through different landscapes and challenges to leave the island safely. Every completed level can be replayed as many times as we want, to show off our new safety skills and improve our score. Neuropal also includes quizzes about safety and a glossary where we can explore more about the nervous system.

Check more here.