Transplanted hands can regain feeling years later, study finds

Amputees who had their own hand or a transplanted hand reattached were able to regain some feeling in the limb years after surgery, a new study finds.

The restored sense of touch appears to stem from the brain's ability to reorganize itself after an amputation. Remarkably, this adaptation occurs even when a hand is transplanted decades after the injury, according to research presented Nov. 16 at the 44th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.

After a hand amputation, brain areas that once received sensory input from the missing limb become rewired

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