Treatment of chronic spinal cord injury restores function to forelimb

A new study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Neurotrauma demonstrates a strategy for treating a chronic spinal cord injury in rats that led to functional recovery of the paralyzed forelimb and paw and precision movements of the digits. Click here to read the article now.

Adrianna Milton, from Case Western Reserve University, and coauthors from Dr. Jerry Silver’s laboratory describe the use of a novel combinatorial treatment strategy designed to both reduce and overcome the effects of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan. Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan is a component of the extracellular and perineuronal net matrix that inhibits neuronal regeneration/sprouting, especially during the chronic stages of spinal cord injuries. The investigators evaluated the combined treatment in rats that had sustained an upper cervical spinal cord injury three months previously. 

“In addition to the use of the receptor disrupting wedge peptide, we employed a novel strategy in combination which can simultaneously and expansively reduce the matrix and perineural net chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans,” stated the investigators. The findings “revealed that treatments with perineuronal net inhibitor and intracellular sigma peptide alone but especially in combination can stimulate a good measure of recovery.”

“This is an important step forward for the field, with real potential for clinical translation,” says David L. Brody, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Neurotrauma.  

About the Journal
Journal of Neurotrauma is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published 24 times per year in print and online that focuses on the latest advances in the clinical and laboratory investigation of traumatic brain and spinal cord injury. Emphasis is on the basic pathobiology of injury to the nervous system, and the papers and reviews evaluate preclinical and clinical trials targeted at improving the early management and long-term care and recovery of patients with traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neurotrauma is the official journal of the National Neurotrauma Society and the International Neurotrauma Society. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Neurotrauma website. 

About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. is a global media company dedicated to creating, curating, and delivering impactful peer-reviewed research and authoritative content services to advance the fields of biotechnology and the life sciences, specialized clinical medicine, public health and policy, and technology and engineering. For further information, please visit the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. website.