Alberto Aguayo is a pioneer in the field of neuron regeneration. He was the first to show that injured neurons from the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) could regenerate and elongate if they were placed in a favorable environment. Prior to this demonstration, only neurons of the peripheral nervous system (outside the brain and the spinal cord) were thought to be able to regenerate after injury. Dr. Aguayo’s watershed demonstration opened a new field of research in neuroscience which may give doctors the tools they need to repaired damaged neurons in their patients.
Since the publication of Dr. Aguayo’s paradigm-changing paper with Dr. Peter M. Richardson (Nature 284:264, 1980), many researchers have worked to identify the factors that promote regeneration in the CNS. They have shown that the injured cells’ interactions with other cell types (like glial cells and cells of the immune system) and with many molecules can either promote or inhibit regeneration.
A method developed by Aguayo with Samuel David (Science 214: 931, 1981), which consists of mending a gap in a sectioned spinal cord by using a “bridge” of neuron growth-promoting peripheral nervous system (PNS) tissue is also still being investigated as a way to repair chronic injuries of the spinal cord (See for example the recent article by Tom et al. J. Neurosci.29:14881, 2009).
Impact of Dr. Aguayo’s discoveries
Approximately 900 Canadians sustain spinal cord injuries every year resulting in varying levels of disability, according to the Canadian Paraplegic Association. There is currently no way to repair this type of injury whose consequences can be very dramatic. Rick Hansen is an emblematic figure and advocate for research on spinal cord injury. For patients such as Hansen, and the estimated 36 000 people living with a spinal cord injury in Canada, research on neuron regeneration in the spinal cord holds many promises.
Honours and appointments:
Dr. Aguayo is also the founder and former Director of the Centre of Research in Neuroscience at McGill University, and has presided the International Brain Research Organization. He is now secretary general of this organisation, which was founded 50 years ago in Montreal.
Dr. Aguayo’s outstanding contributions to education and neuroscience have been recognised by :
The Gairdner Award
The Killam Award
The Order of Canada
Membership in the Royal Society of Canada.
In 2011 he was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.
Read a recent interview with Dr. Aguayo here.
