New Scientific Research on Spinal Cord Injury Therapy

New advances in spinal cord treatment give reasons for optimism for injury victims. Below, we review findings from two new, promising studies.

The first study, Role of Endogenous Neural Stem Cells in Spinal Cord Injury and Repair, came from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Authors Moa Stenudd, Hanna Sabelstrom and Jonas Frisen examined the role of endogenous neural stem cells. They found that these cells play a positive role in the spinal cord repair process.

Spinal cord injuries generally always result in glial scar formation, and these scar formations can have both positive and negative effects on recovery. Ependymal cells — in effect, neural stem cells found in the spinal cord — generate astrocytes within the glial scar formations.

Why does this matter? These stem cells provide several important benefits. Specifically, they restrict both tissue damage and neural loss after spinal cord injury. Researchers seek to target these stem cells as a potential way to treat spinal cord injury.

The second study, An Effective Strategy of Magnetic Stem Cell Delivery for Spinal Cord Injury Therapy, came out of the Institutes of Physics, Experimental Medicine, Macromolecular Chemistry and the Department of Medicine in Prague. Authors Dmitry Tukmachev, Oleg Lunov, Vitalii Zablotskii, Alexandr Dejneka, Michal Babic, Eva Sykovaa and Sarka Kubinova collaborated to highlight the potential of treating spinal cord injuries with stem cell transplantation.

While the medical community has long known of stem cell transplantation’s potential benefits, current treatments are limited due to difficulties delivering the stem cells into the damaged tissue.

This study aimed to remedy this problem by using magnetism. A magnetic system was designed to accumulate stem cells at a specific site of the spinal cord injury in a way that allows for rapid delivery of the stem cells. According to the authors, this non-invasive magnetic system might be a great way to provide focused stem cell targeting and rapid delivery results.

The Bottom Line: Promising Research on Spinal Cord Injury Therapy, But There’s a Long Way to Go

While these studies offer some hope for patients, spinal cord injuries remain a complex medical issue, and they often lead to shortened lifespan, pain, and massive medical costs. If your spinal cord injury was wrongfully caused in a motorcycle crash or any other accident, contact our experienced personal injury attorneys to seek compensation and justice.