ANSWER: HAIR CELLS CAN REGROW NERVES
Who knows? Maybe hair stem cells will provide a controversy-free source of cell therapy someday!
Numerous publications have demonstrated that in rodents (not humans) hair follicle stem cells from the bulge region promote recovery of injured spinal cord and can also play a role in repair of smaller nerves on our periphery.
"Pluripotent" refers to a cell that can become many different types of cells. Well, glass-half-full readers would say that these studies suggest that hair follicle accessible pluripotent (HAP) cells are the next easily-accessible source to propel regenerative medicine. Glass-half-empty readers, on the other hand, may read that (despite its <99% genetic similarity with the human genome) what happens in mice simply doesn't translate to humans.
'til next time !!!!