Neurorestoratology: one of the most promising new disciplines at the forefront of neuroscience and medicine

Hongyun Huang,¹ Hari Shanker Sharma<sup>2

1</sup>Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Rehabilitation Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China; ²Laboratory of Cerebrovascular Research, Department of Surgical Sciences, Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital, Uppsala University, Sweden

Neurorestoratology is a new and emerging distinct discipline put forward on the basis of nervous restorable (neurorestorable) theory, which states that nerve damage to the central nervous system (CNS) can be restored. Neurorestorable theory in CNS was proposed by Huang et al based on clinical achievements obtained from cell-based neurorestorative therapy¹.  Neurorestoratology, same as neurology, neurosurgery, neurorehabilitation, etc is a distinct discipline in neuroscience and medicine. The Beijing Declaration of International Association of Neurorestoratology (IANR) determined its definition in 2009.² The aim of neurorestoratology is to restore or promote recovery of damaged or lost neuronal functions. As depicted in Figure 1,³ it can clearly be seen that there was a blank space – indicated by the question mark in the figure – that needed to be filled with a new discipline, neurorestoratology, so it can be likened to an inexorable biological law and its development to a natural process quite similar to that of the periodic law of chemistry discovered and proposed by Dmitri Mendeleev. In recent years, neurorestoratology has become one of the most interesting core areas of neuroscience and medicine worldwide, representing a novel aspect of translational medicine.