Browse the latest research summaries in the field of neurology for spinal cord injury patients and caregivers.
Showing 11-20 of 5,401 results
JoVE, 2011 • January 1, 2011
Schwann cells are promising for spinal cord injury repair due to their ability to support axonal regeneration. However, their limited integration with host astrocytes poses a challenge. In vitro assay...
KEY FINDING: Schwann-astrocyte co-cultures show a sharp boundary, especially when Schwann cell proliferation is enhanced using forskolin and BPE.
Exp Neurol, 2011 • June 1, 2011
This study demonstrates that GDNF can modify the astrogliotic response following spinal cord injury, promoting axonal regeneration into Schwann cell grafts. GDNF facilitates the migration of astrocyte...
KEY FINDING: GDNF, combined with transplanted Schwann cells (SCs), effectively reversed the inhibitory properties of astrocytes at graft-host interfaces allowing robust axonal regeneration.
Neurotherapeutics, 2011 • April 1, 2011
Oligodendrocytes (OLs) are particularly susceptible to the toxicity of the acute lesion environment after spinal cord injury (SCI). They undergo both necrosis and apoptosis acutely, with apoptosis con...
KEY FINDING: Oligodendrocytes are particularly susceptible to the toxic environment created by spinal cord injury, leading to their death through both necrosis and apoptosis.
PLoS ONE, 2011 • March 2, 2011
This study demonstrates that specific subtypes of human astrocytes have different abilities to promote repair in the injured adult central nervous system. Transplantation of astrocytes generated by ex...
KEY FINDING: Astrocytes generated by exposing human glial precursor cells to bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) promoted significant recovery of volitional foot placement after spinal cord injury.
The Journal of Neuroscience, 2011 • March 16, 2011
This study demonstrates that olfactory ensheathing glia (OEG) transplantation promotes axon regeneration across a complete spinal cord transection in adult rats. The research highlights that this rege...
KEY FINDING: OEG transplantation promotes axon regeneration across a complete spinal cord transection in adult rats, as evidenced by electrophysiological and anatomical assessments.
Neuroscience, 2011 • June 2, 2011
The study investigates the expression of neurotrophins (NTs) and their Trk receptors in larval lampreys after spinal cord injury (SCI). Results showed that NT expression is initially downregulated nea...
KEY FINDING: NT expression was downregulated in neurons close to the transection at 2 weeks post-transection, but returned to control levels by 4 weeks.
Mt Sinai J Med, 2011 • March 1, 2011
The review examines potential avenues for oligodendrocyte protection and endogenous myelin repair in multiple sclerosis (MS) and its animal models, emphasizing the importance of these approaches for i...
KEY FINDING: Neurotrophins, such as NGF and NT-3, can influence myelination, with NGF affecting neurons and NT-3 having potent glial effects.
The Journal of Neuroscience, 2011 • March 23, 2011
This study demonstrates that neural progenitor cells (NPCs) can be used to create a neuronal relay across the injured spinal cord, forming synaptic connections with host neurons and restoring function...
KEY FINDING: Neural progenitor cells can be grafted into the injured spinal cord to form a neuronal relay by extending axons across the injury site.
Eur J Neurosci, 2011 • May 1, 2011
This study investigates the role of miR-133b in spinal cord regeneration in adult zebrafish. The research demonstrates that miR-133b expression increases in specific brainstem neurons following spinal...
KEY FINDING: miR-133b expression is upregulated in regenerating neurons of the brainstem after spinal cord transection in adult zebrafish.
PNAS, 2011 • April 12, 2011
This study investigates the role of STAT3, a transcription factor, in axon regeneration in the peripheral and central nervous systems using in vivo imaging and genetic manipulations in mice. The findi...
KEY FINDING: Deletion of STAT3 in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons impairs regeneration of peripheral DRG branches after a nerve cut.