Dr Arjan Scheepens from the University of Auckland says the research could translate to humans in the long term.
"We saw that the rats that were given growth hormone treatment for a long time, a six week chronic treatment, they improved motor function very, very quickly," he said.
"[They recovered] much more quickly than than the rats that didn't receive growth hormone."
He says the research could translate to patients, as the growth hormone is already used safely in humans. © 2007 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
