New Drug Helps Repair Spinal Cord Injuries

Scientists have created a new chemical compound that can help restore muscle function in patients suffering from spinal cord injuries. The findings are published in the journal Nature.

"This recovery is unprecedented," said lead study author Jerry Silver and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine professor of neurosciences, in a news release. "Each of the 21 animals got something back in terms of function. For any spinal cord-injured patient today, it would be considered extraordinary to regain even one of these functions, especially bladder function." 

For the study, researchers injected 26 rats with the compound intracellular sigma peptide (ISP), which was developed by Case Western Reserve scientists, with severe spinal cord injuries. Researchers recorded that the compound helped 80 percent of the paralyzed rats (21) regain the ability to urinate, move or both.

When a spinal cord injury occurs, proteoglycans-otherwise known as key components that play an important role in maintaining the structure of the nervous system-collect in scar tissue at the injury site and in the perineuronal net.

Following injury, proteoglycans can become overly abundant in scar tissue and impenetrable around synapses through the brain and spinal cord, preventing regeneration.

"There are currently no drug therapies available that improve the very limited natural recovery from spinal cord injuries that patients experience," said Lyn Jakeman, PhD, a program director at the NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, Md. "This is a great step toward identifying a novel agent for helping people recover."

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