Grant: Operating Grant

Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is a leading cause of permanent disabilities affecting nearly 2.5 million individuals worldwide. Over 80% of SCI victims are young productive individuals who are afflicted with lifelong disabilities. Any treatment option that provides even some improvement in function for patients may improve their quality of life significantly. As a result, there is currently a substantial incentive to develop safe and effective therapies for SCI. Neurological deficits after SCI are mainly attributed to the degeneration of nerve fibers and loss of insulating myelin sheath around them. Myelin is an essential compound made by oligodendrocytes that facilitate rapid signal transmission between the brain and spinal cord. SCI causes permanent damage to nerve fibers, oligodendrocytes and myelin sheath that leads to body paralysis and loss of sensation in patients. Therapeutic strategies to replace oligodendrocytes and repair nerve fibers have great potential to improve recovery of functions in SCI patients. Our evidence suggests that spinal cord has the potential to make new cells and repair its damaged nerve fibers after injury. However, these regenerative activities are hindered after SCI by the negative changes that occur in the injury environment. One major factor for this failure is the depletion of key growth factors essential for cell repair and regeneration. We have recently identified key factors that are altered dramatically after SCI. We have shown that administration of these factors into the injured spinal cord was beneficial in replacing lost oligodendrocytes and preventing the degeneration of nerve fibers after SCI. We are currently investigating several aspects of these treatments and importantly their long-term effects in improving functional recovery. Our ultimate goal is to develop a safe and effective treatment for improving the quality of life in SCI patients.