Research Breakthrough Suggests New Treatment for Spinal Cord Injuries
In a multidisciplinary investigation led by Inderjit Singh, PhD, a breakthrough has been made in relation to the treatment of spinal cord injuries (SCI). Set for publication in the April issue of the Journal of Neurochemistry (101, 182-200), the study investigates the efficacy of atorvastatin (AT), commonly known as Lipitor®, as a treatment for SCI following trauma.
The report demonstrates, for the first time, that by using AT in treating SCI after they have occurred, animal models with hind-limb paralysis showed significant functional recovery and less secondary tissue damage. Importantly, scientists discovered that AT also protects the cells responsible for producing myelin in the spinal cord, a substance which maintains normal function by insulating nerve fibers that carry signals through the spinal cord. Therefore, this discovery of post-injury AT treatment may be extremely valuable in preserving neurological function and walking following spinal cord injuries.
Singh is a Pediatrics distinguished university professor, Division of Developmental Neurogenetics director and scientific director at the Charles P. Darby Children’s Research Institute in Charleston, South Carolina.
Statins, including AT, belong to a class of drugs that are known to affect numerous cellular processes. Experimental investigations and clinical trials in patients have established the neuroprotective efficacy of statin treatment in multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke and spinal cord injuries.
“These exciting findings suggest that AT shelters myelin producing cells and neurons during the inflammatory storm produced by trauma, and that when the storm has passed, that such cells resume myelin production,” said DCRI executive director, neurologist and neuroscientist Bernard Maria, MD. “It opens up a new paradigm for treatment of spinal cord injury by preserving the integrity of progenitor cells that would otherwise have died off.”
It is now accepted that the site, nature, and duration of secondary inflammations occurring immediately after a spinal cord injury determine the extent of functional loss or paralysis, and early reduction of these events is shown to minimize functional loss and enhance recovery. As a result, antiinflammatory and neuroprotective agents, including statins, are the favored first line of defense as therapeutic agents in spinal cord injuries.
Neurodegeneration post-injury is evident in the form of white matter destruction that includes loss of tissue viability, degeneration of severed axons and myelin destruction. AT treatment post-SCI reduced these processes. Furthermore, AT treatment prevented apoptotic neuronal loss (i.e., the chain of neuronal cell deaths triggered by the injury after it has occurred). This is of critical value in the wake of an SCI, as neuroprotective treatments have the potential to lead to improved functional recovery and only a few residual axons (5-10%) are needed to achieve significant functional recovery.
While considering regenerative approaches, depending on the nature and extent of injury, it is likely that AT by itself or maybe in combination with other therapeutic approaches, such as stem cell transplantation, could prove beneficial and augment functional recovery. As immune suppression has been found beneficial for survival of transplanted cells, it is likely that anti-inflammatory actions of post- injury AT treatment could compliment cell grafting by creating a growth-supportive environment to augment survival and differentiation of these cells to enhance the reparative process.
Emphasizing the therapeutic potential of post-injury AT treatment in spinal cord injuries, the investigation also strengthens the idea of long-term benefits that include reduction of secondary pathology through suppression of inflammation, Wallerian degeneration, gliosis, and most importantly-neuronal apoptosis (also known as “programmed cell death”).
This study is only the beginning of an endeavor to uncover the extensive potential of AT in treating spinal cord injuries as the various facets of this drug need to be carefully examined to more precisely determine the clinical effects of statins, the differential potency of statins, and to evaluate whether combination therapy might be more effective than monotherapy. However, due to the long-established human safety of statins, this report is likely to have positive clinical implications for spinal cord treatment.
Source: www.musc.edu/pr/singh.htm
Pregnancy Hormone May Help Treat MS
Scientists may have found the answer to a puzzling question on why multiple sclerosis (MS) often eases into remission during pregnancy. Research at the University of Calgary involving mice has uncovered evidence that a pregnancy-related hormone called prolactin may be involved in the production of myelin, which is made up of protein and fatty substances that insulate nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. “It was thought that during pregnancy, [women's] immune systems no longer destroyed the myelin,” says Calgary researcher Samuel Weiss, PhD in a Society for Neuroscience news release. “But no previous study has tested whether pregnancy actually results in the production of new myelin, which may explain improvement of symptoms,” Weiss adds.
Diseases such as MS are caused when myelin is damaged from a direct immune system attack, disrupting the transmission of impulses along nerve cells. The findings, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, demonstrate that prolactin could potentially be used in future treatment of MS and help patients experience less symptoms.
During the study, researchers destroyed myelin around nerve cells in pregnant and virgin female mice. They discovered that pregnant mice had more prolactin and myelin-producing cells, known as oligodendrocytes, than virgin female mice of the same age. The study also showed that the pregnant mice had greater success at repairing their myelin damage than the virgin mice. When prolactin, which is involved in stimulating milk production during pregnancy, was injected into the non-pregnant mice, their myelin also showed signs of repair.
Creator of “Bionic Ear” Working to Help Paraplegics
The creator of the bionic ear is about to start tests on a new spinal cord implant, which could help paraplegics walk again.
The Bionic Ear Institute’s Professor Graeme Clark is working with scientists from the Australian Research Centre to develop the technology. Patients would have an implant inserted near their spinal injury and receive a controlled hormone release to stimulate new nerve growth.
Professor Clark says testing is about to start on animals, but it could be some time before it is ready for human use.
“I would say if the animal tests are successful, [it could be ready] within a few years,” he said.
“I don’t mean three-it could be four, it could be five, then that’s time to do some preliminary studies a couple of years later on patients.”
