I think that you will find this issue of PNN is the most exciting issue to date.
Over the eight years that I have been vitally interested in the advancement of spinal
cord research, it seems that more progress occurred in 1995 than in any previous single year. Granted, a certain degree of the progress may have been psychological, but that
dimension should not be underestimated.

Much of the progress may also be due to a wider-spread awareness and digestion
of previous advancements by such giants as Albert Aguayo, Martin Schwab, Wise Young,
Ake Seiger, Evan Snyder, Paul Reier, Fred Gage, Eric Shooter, and others.

But such a solid sense of optimism as implied by the Genetics Engineering
News article about ACORDA THERAPEUTICS transcends any other private-corporate enterprise I've seen. Here we see Dr. Ron Cohen, M.D., Dr. Wise Young Ph.D., M.D. and their team of professional researchers around the world, who now believe that the tools to begin to help repair CNS damage are at hand.

They refer to Bioengineering as the integration of several different technologies and their application in vivo to restore spinal cord function. Their dedication in striving for
the improvement of lives and functionalities of SCI's appears to be genuine.

I our section of "News Around The Net", you will learn of some of the latest
issues in neural tissue transplantation excluding this week's budget news where it is
proposed that the embryo tissue used in medical pursuits be reduced. Some may find interesting the letter fr5om an SCI with regard to frank sexual issues confronting those
with spinal cord injuries. There is an article on studies of vertebral artery injury after acute
cervical spine trauma and an article or two of interest from Anna Peekstok.

But, above all, if the advancements that have been made are just left out there
in limbo, without further discussion and investigation, we are all just likely to remain
right where we are, with the same limitations inherited from our respective situations.
There is something each of us can do. Take advantage of the on-line forums here at
the CPN site. Ask Questions. Answer concerns of others where you can. You will feel
better and maybe help someone in the process.

Finally, after all the optimism displayed in this issue, it might be only proper to
end it with a little bitterness. The last letter to the editor is just that. I rececived it from one of the "old school" who apparently doesn't believe in hope and progress. He even works for the NIH. It might sober us up alittle, but serve to remind us of how this movement is viewed by many who don't know any better. You hear it all the time.
Forgive them.