Is a Cure for Spinal Cord Injury on the Horizon? Scientists Say Yes
Jackson Heights, NY–The latest issue of United Spinal Association’s Action Online newsletter, available at www.unitedspinal.org/publications/action/, reports on growing confidence in the scientific community for finding a cure for spinal cord injury and disease.
Lakshmi Bangalore, PhD, writes “scientists are exploring ways to repair and overcome myelin damage as a tractable approach to restoring function, at least in a large number of patients with SCI.” Prominent researcher Dr. Wise Young states in a fascinating interview, “many therapies show promise for regenerating and remyelinating the spinal cord, and several therapies are ready to go to clinical trials.”
Dr. Bangalore, the scientific liaison officer at the Paralyzed Veterans of America-United Spinal Association Center for Neuroscience and Regeneration Research of Yale University, explains that researchers have learned that damage to the myelin “insulation” that protects the spinal cord’s nerve fibers is one of the main causes of paralysis. Research is progressing on determining ways to restore myelin cells and to repair damaged spinal cord nerve fibers and Dr. Bangalore notes that “a cure, which once seemed impossible, is now seen by many scientists as an achievable goal.”
Dr. Young, the Richard H. Shindall Chair in Neuroscience of the Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience at Rutgers University, details a number of cure approaches that have been successful outside the United States in recent years, including peripheral nerve bridging in England, weight-supported treadmill ambulation training in Germany, and transplantation of olfactory ensheathing glial cells in China. In making a case for more clinical trials on humans, Dr. Young remarked, “there are over 100 therapies today that have been shown to regenerate the spinal cord…there’s a lot going on and there’s a lot to be hopeful for.”
Action Online readers will also learn about the Bloomingdale, New Jersey, “Push To Walk” program, a center dedicated to spinal cord injury recovery that concentrates on improving neuromuscular function through exercise, with the ultimate goal of helping people to walk again.