In the Boston University study, [Harry S. Goldsmith] and de la Torre severed the spinal cords of eight anesthetized cats. They then injected a mixture of chemicals to promote nerve growth and the protein collagen, commonly found in the skin, to bridge the 3-millimeter gap in the spinal cord. The last step of the procedure involved wrapping part of the omentum, a tissue that drapes between the stomach and colon, around the break in the spinal cord. The omentum contains a variety of substances that promote growth of blood vessels and nerves, Goldsmith said. Seventy-six days after surgery, researchers found, two cats had regained hind limb movement. They also showed evidence of sensory function in the legs. Goldsmith found after autopsy that the severed nerve axons had grown as much as four inches.

Neuroscientist Paul Reier of Florida and Douglas Anderson of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Cincinnati tried to duplicate the kind of injuries that most often paralyze humans by compressing the spinal cords of 15 cats. They then transplanted fetal nerve cells to the damaged spinal cords, with encouraging but mixed results.