Gabapentin is often prescribed for neurological diseases. An experimental study suggests that when given early after spinal cord injury, it can also limit harmful structural changes in nerve cells.
Blood chemistry parameters can predict the recovery that patients with incomplete spinal cord injuries will have one year later. This important finding was made by researchers from Salzburg.
White blood cell fluctuations predict outcomes of spinal cord injury. New scientific findings could help current patient management and establishment of future treatments.
By using gene therapy, a German research team forced nerve cells to produce a curative protein. Mice that had complete injury could walk again after two to three weeks.
The United States Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) announced that it is supporting an international consortium with a staggering budget of 36.5 million USD. This budget will be committed at improving recovery after spinal cord injuries using innovative, implantable technologies.
The usage of stem cells holds a huge potential for promoting recovery after a spinal cord injury. Numerous experiments showed that the transplantation of neural stem cells can improve recovery. Scientists could see that both damaged and brought in cells are extending new axons but couldn’t tell if they made functional connections.
A new drug that also repairs damage to the spinal cord has been created by scientists. Although still at an early stage, it holds the potential to improve the conditions in neurological diseases.
