International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2020 · DOI: 10.3390/ijms21238896 · Published: November 24, 2020
This study explores a new approach to treating spinal cord injuries using a combination of therapies. The approach combines epidural electrical stimulation, which helps activate the spinal cord's neural networks, with gene therapy, which introduces genes that promote nerve regeneration. The gene therapy involved using umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells to deliver three beneficial genes: vascular endothelial growth factor, glial-derived neurotrophic factor, and neural cell adhesion molecule. The study was conducted on pigs, whose spinal cords are similar to those of humans, allowing for better translation of the results to clinical applications. The pigs received spinal cord contusions and were then treated with either saline (control group) or gene-modified umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells (treatment group) followed by epidural electrical stimulation and locomotor training. The results suggest that the combination of epidural stimulation and gene therapy may improve motor function and promote tissue remodeling in the injured spinal cord. Specifically, the treated pigs showed improvements in active movements, muscle tone, and sensitivity in their hind limbs, as well as changes in the composition and function of their spinal cord tissue.
The positive results in pigs, which have spinal cords similar to humans, suggest potential for clinical trials to assess the efficacy of the combined therapy in human SCI patients.
The combination of EES and triple gene therapy could become a new integrated therapeutic approach for SCI, addressing multiple aspects of the injury, such as cell death, inflammation, and neural connectivity.
The preliminary findings highlight the need for more in-depth studies with larger sample sizes to fully understand the discrete impact of EES and triple gene therapy in SCI treatment.