Humans And Monkeys Recover Faster From Spinal Cord Injury Than Rats

After a similar spinal cord injury in humans, monkeys and rats, it was found that humans and monkeys exhibit greater motor recovery than rats, according to a new research.

Spontaneous improvement occurs during the first six months after a spinal cord injury, allowing a hemiplegic patient to recover partial motor control. The neuronal mechanisms underlying this extensive recovery in primates are nearly absent in laboratory rats, researchers said.

Smokers Are At High Risk for Developing Spinal Cord Related Infections
Smoking reduces bone density and increases risk of developing osteoporosis, facet disease, spinal arthritis and other degenerative spine conditions.

"Research on rats is essential for developing regenerative therapies, but rodents show fundamental differences from primates in terms of neuronal reorganization and functional recovery," said research leader Gregoire Courtine from Ecole Polytechnique Federale De Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland.

The reason for this lies in differences in anatomy and function of the corticospinal tract, which are the fibers through which the cortex communicates with the spinal cord.

In rats, the corticospinal tract is mainly located in the dorsal column and is restricted to one side of the spinal cord, whereas in monkeys and humans this pathway migrated to the lateral column, expand in size, and became bilateral.

New Non-Invasive Spinal Cord Stimulation May Help Paralyzed Patients To Move Legs
The non-invasive procedure can significantly improve quality of life for patients with severe spinal cord injuries, and help them recover multiple body functions.

"Because of these anatomical specificities, many fibers are spared after an injury," said Courtine. "The corticospinal tract forms detour circuits around the lesion, restoring communication between the brain and the neuronal circuits that control the movement of the arms and legs," Courtine explained.

The identification of this primate-specific mechanism of recovery has major implications for future research to design therapies to repair the human spinal cord, scientists said.

Electrical Stimulation Reverses Nerve Damage Caused by Spinal Cord Injury
An intensive six-week peripheral nerve stimulation program was beneficial in improving nerve excitability parameters toward the normal range.

The study was published in Science Translational Medicine.

Source-IANS

Spinal Cord Injury Becoming a Major Public Health Issue in Older Patients
The number of traumatic spinal cord injuries among men aged 65 to 74 years jumped to 131 cases per million from 84 cases per million during 1993-2012.