Drug found to help repair spinal cord injuries

ConclusionThis exciting piece of research has found that the immediate treatment of spinal cord injuries using a newly-developed molecule can improve nerve regeneration, leading to some functional recovery in rats. The drug appears to work by disrupting the unhealthy pattern of scar tissue that develops and usually stops nerves from growing and lengthening, instead forming tight knots.The tests performed on rats appear to show that injections of the drug following a spinal cord injury led to improved bladder function, walking ability and balance.The researchers report that the rats did not develop neuropathic pain, which often happens when damaged nerves do not grow back normally. They also did not report any side effects with the treatment, aside from some inflammation at the injection site. When the research gets to the point of human trials, the accuracy of these observations will be much easier to determine, but this is a long way off.Further tests will now be conducted to see why the drug did not work for five of the rats and to determine the optimal dose. Longer-term tests will also be required to look for any side effects that may occur with this treatment before any human studies can be performed. Analysis by Bazian. Edited by NHS Choices. Follow Behind the Headlines on Twitter. Join the Healthy Evidence forum. Links To The Headlines Drug can repair spinal cord injuries, study shows. BBC News, December 4 2014Renewed hope for patients paralysed by spine injuries. Th...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medication Neurology Source Type: news