Research offers hope in new treatment for spinal cord injuries

May 3, 2011 in Neuroscience

Rutgers researchers have developed an innovative new treatment that could help minimize nerve damage in spinal cord injuries, promote tissue healing and minimize pain.

After a injury there is an increased production of a protein (RhoA) that blocks regeneration of nerve cells that carry signals along the spinal cord and prevents the injured tissue from healing.

Scientists at the W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience and Quark Pharmaceuticals Inc. have developed a chemically synthesized siRNA molecule that decreases the production of the RhoA protein when administered to the spine and allows regeneration of the .

"It is exciting because this minimally-invasive treatment can selectively target the injured tissue and thereby promote healing and reduce pain," says Martin Grumet, associate director of the Keck Center and senior author of a recent study published in the Journal of Neurotrauma.

The neuropathic pain, also known as phantom pain that occurs as a result of a spinal cord injury is often associated with an increased production of RhoA. When researchers injected the chemically synthesized molecular substance into the spinal cords of laboratory rats with spinal cord injury using a procedure similar to a spinal tap, there was an overall improvement in tissue healing and recovery.

More than 250,000 people in the United States are living with a spinal cord injury and currently there is no way to reverse the damage. No drugs for early treatment of spinal cord injury have been approved in over a decade. Based on this joint research, Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc now has a drug development program for the treatment of spinal cord injury and . This new research is supported by grants from the New Jersey Commission for Spinal Cord Research and Quark.

Provided by Rutgers University search and more info website

4.5 /5 (2 votes)  

Rank 4.5 /5 (2 votes)
Related Stories
Relevant PhysicsForums posts
  • A question about drug tolerance
    created19 hours ago
  • Poor nutrition leading to overeating?
    createdMay 23, 2012
  • Math and dyslexia?
    createdMay 21, 2012
  • portable metabolism meter?
    createdMay 21, 2012
  • Rare medical conditions on 20/20 tonight
    createdMay 18, 2012
  • "Good" Cholesterol in Doubt
    createdMay 17, 2012
  • More from Physics Forums - Medical Sciences

More news stories

Persistent sensory experience is good for aging brain

Despite a long-held scientific belief that much of the wiring of the brain is fixed by the time of adolescence, a new study shows that changes in sensory experience can cause massive rewiring of the brain, even as one ages. ...

Neuroscience created 1 hour ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Boundary stops molecule right where it needs to be

A molecule responsible for the proper formation of a key portion of the nervous system finds its way to the proper place not because it is actively recruited, but instead because it can't go anywhere else.

Neuroscience created 1 hour ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Locating ground zero: How the brain's emergency workers find the disaster area

Like emergency workers rushing to a disaster scene, cells called microglia speed to places where the brain has been injured, to contain the damage by 'eating up' any cellular debris and dead or dying neurons. ...

Neuroscience created 1 hour ago | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Genetic 'reset switch' enables signaling pathway to induce multiple developmental outcomes for olfactory neurons

Within the nervous system, a handful of signaling pathways modulate development of a cornucopia of different neuronal subtypes. “Even small alterations in neuron differentiation pathways can disrupt subsequent ...

Neuroscience created 5 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

The auditory cortex adapts agilely with concentration

The birth of sensory perception on the human cerebral cortex is yet to be fully explained. The different areas on the cortex function in cooperation, and no perception is the outcome of only one area working alone. In his ...

Neuroscience created 6 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


Researchers identify protein necessary for behavioral flexibility

Researchers have identified a protein necessary to maintain behavioral flexibility, which allows us to modify our behaviors to adjust to circumstances that are similar, but not identical, to previous experiences. Their findings, ...

Thioridazine kills cancer stem cells in human while avoiding toxic side-effects of conventional cancer treatments

A team of scientists at McMaster University has discovered a drug, thioridazine, successfully kills cancer stem cells in the human while avoiding the toxic side-effects of conventional cancer treatments.

Researcher calls for new approach to regulating probiotics

In today's Nature scientific journal Dr. Gregor Reid, Director of the Canadian R&D Centre for Probiotics at Lawson Health Research Institute and a scientist at Western University, calls for a Category Tree system to be imp ...

Male fertility genes discovered

A new study has revealed previously undiscovered genetic variants that influence fertility in men. The findings, published by Cell Press on May 24th in the American Journal of Human Genetics, shed much-needed light on hum ...

Knowing genetic makeup may not significantly improve disease risk prediction

Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers have found that detailed knowledge about your genetic makeup—the interplay between genetic variants and other genetic variants, or between genetic variants and environmental ...

A boost in microRNA may protect against sepsis and other inflammatory diseases

Acute inflammatory diseases, such as sepsis, as well as chronic inflammatory diseases like diabetes and arthritis, develop as a result of sustained inflammation of the blood vessel wall. Researchers at Brigham and Women's ...