Sequential therapy of anti-Nogo-A antibody treatment and treadmill training leads to cumulative improvements after spinal cord injury in rats.

Sequential therapy of anti-Nogo-A antibody treatment and treadmill training leads to cumulative improvements after spinal cord injury in rats. Exp Neurol. 2017 Mar 21;: Authors: Chen K, Marsh BC, Cowan M, Al'Joboori YD, Gigout S, Smith CC, Messenger N, Gamper N, Schwab ME, Ichiyama RM Abstract Intense training is the most clinically successful treatment modality following incomplete spinal cord injuries (SCIs). With the advent of plasticity enhancing treatments, understanding how treatments might interact when delivered in combination becomes critical. Here, we investigated a rational approach to sequentially combine treadmill locomotor training with antibody mediated suppression of the fiber growth inhibitory protein Nogo-A. Following a large but incomplete thoracic lesion, rats were immediately treated with either anti-Nogo-A or control antibody (2weeks) and then either left untrained or step-trained starting 3weeks after injury for 8weeks. It was found that sequentially combined therapy improved step consistency and reduced toe dragging and climbing errors, as seen with training and anti-Nogo-A individually. Animals with sequential therapy also adopted a more parallel paw position during bipedal walking and showed greater overall quadrupedal locomotor recovery than individual treatments. Histologically, sequential therapy induced the greatest corticospinal tract sprouting caudally into the lumbar region and increased the number of...
Source: Experimental Neurology - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Exp Neurol Source Type: research