Browse the latest research summaries in the field of regenerative medicine for spinal cord injury patients and caregivers.
Showing 1-10 of 2,298 results
The Journal of Neuroscience, 2011 • January 19, 2011
This study investigates the therapeutic potential of multipotent adult progenitor cells (MAPCs) in treating spinal cord injury, focusing on their ability to modulate macrophage-mediated axonal dieback...
KEY FINDING: MAPCs significantly decrease MMP-9 release from macrophages, effectively preventing induction of axonal dieback in vitro.
Neurourol Urodyn, 2011 • April 1, 2011
The study examined the patterns of axonal regrowth to the bladder following different nerve repair and transfer techniques in a canine model. Postmortem DiI tracing revealed that reinnervation, irresp...
KEY FINDING: Reinnervation of the bladder, regardless of the nerve source, results in innervation of both intramural ganglia and direct innervation of the detrusor muscle.
Cell Mol Neurobiol, 2011 • January 23, 2011
The study demonstrates that electrical stimulation enhances BDNF expression in spinal cord neurons both in vivo and in vitro. The increase in BDNF expression is mediated by a Ca2+-dependent pathway, a...
KEY FINDING: Electrical stimulation increases BDNF expression in spinal cord neurons both in vivo and in vitro.
Science, 2011 • February 18, 2011
Hypertrophic scarring and poor intrinsic axon growth capacity constitute major obstacles for spinal cord repair. We found that moderate microtubule stabilization decreased scar formation after spinal ...
KEY FINDING: Moderate microtubule stabilization decreased scar formation after SCI in rodents.
Exp Neurol, 2012 • May 1, 2012
Regeneration and structural plasticity are regulated by a delicate balance of growth-promoting and growth-inhibiting influences in the injured adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS). Gene therap...
KEY FINDING: Injured axons remain responsive to neurotrophic factor delivery, even in chronic stages of injury, responding with enhanced neuronal survival and axon growth.
PLoS ONE, 2011 • January 24, 2011
This study investigates whether local delivery of constitutively active Rho GTPases (CA-Cdc42 and CA-Rac1) and Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) can alleviate CSPG-mediated inhibition of regene...
KEY FINDING: Treatment with BDNF, CA-Cdc42, or CA-Rac1 reduced the number of GFAP-positive astrocytes, as well as CSPG deposition, at the interface of the implanted hydrogel and host tissue.
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
Traumatic spinal cord injuries lead to tissue degeneration and functional reorganization. Peripheral nerve grafts offer a supportive environment for nerve regeneration after spinal cord injury, provid...
KEY FINDING: Peripheral nerve grafts can promote axonal regeneration in the injured spinal cord.
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 investigates the cellular and molecular changes following peripheral nerve grafts and aFGF treatment that improve hindlimb locomotor function in spinal cord-transected rats. The repair stra...
KEY FINDING: The study found that a combination of peripheral nerve grafts and acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF) induced higher levels of interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-10, and IL-13 in the graft areas of rat spinal cords.