Recovery of sensory function by stem cell transplants

They want guinea pigs? throw me a lettuce and pump them in . . .

Recovery in sensory nerves has intrigued me for many years. The younger ones on the forum probably know little or nothing about polio. The outbreak in the US was worst in the late 40's and early 50's. People with polio, even those with the highest level of physical disability, retained sensation. How did this happen? Why were nerves that control activity destroyed or impaired, but those that control sensation remain intact? I have many friends who contracted polio when they were infants or grammar school age. In general their quality of life and longevity were superior to those with SCI.

Sparing of sensory nerves would be an obvious boon to bowel, bladder, and sexual function. It would also help with preventing decubiti. Many of us experience weird feelings when something is wrong, but we can't pinpoint the problem. Sensation would help with diagnosing those issues. For paraplegics it could be argued that complete return of sensation might be more important than limited recovery of mobility. For quadriplegics it would be more important to regain use of the upper extremities and hands, IMO.