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New Hope for Spinal Injuries

Med Headlines - One of the most heartbreaking aspects of spinal cord injuries is that they so often lead to permanent paralysis with little hope of recovery. Now, however, the exciting results of a study recently conducted from UCLA (University of California - Los Angeles) suggest that, in some cases, the future might not be so bleak.The determining factor is the health of long nerve fibers that run from the brain, along the spinal cord, and to the limbs, allowing the ability to move. When the long nerve fibers on one side of the spinal cord have been severed, in many cases a limited range of motion has been re-established. It’s been thought the long nerve fibers on the other side of the spine reroute themselves in an effort to compensate for some of the damage of the severed nerve fibers.

The new study, conducted by Michael Sofroniew, professor of biology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, finds that a different re-routing mechanism may actually be in play.

Using mice in experiments involving both surgery and chemicals to block normal function of long nerve fibers, the researchers found the mice could recover movement and walk again even when the long nerve fibers on both sides of the spinal cord had been severed.

It seems the impulses between undamaged spinal cord neurons continued to transmit signals that led to the restoration of a limited but functional amount of movement in the mice. During their recovery period, the mice stayed active, dragging their impaired limbs until, after about 10 weeks, they were able to walk effectively although not as well as before the experiment.

Sofroniew suggests the use of specific drugs and controlled movement, both intended to stimulate the activity of “interneurons” along the spinal cord may offer the possibility of some degree of recovery from paralysis after spinal cord injury.

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