Laborartory studies in mice have shown that a drug called
intracellular sigma peptide (ISP) has promising results in restoring functions
like the ability to walk, to balance and urinate, lost due to paralyzing injury
to the spinal cord.
Scientists are hoping that with further studies ISP could be
used for therapy in humans. Jerry Silver, a professor of neurosciences at Case
Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio said, "We're very excited at
the possibility that millions of people could, one day, regain movements lost
during spinal cord injuries."
How to Deal with a Stroke
Stroke is a brain attack, which occurs when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted. It affects all age groups; according to the WHO, 15 million people are affected by stroke annually.
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The research looked at ways of overcoming scarring when nerve fibers in the spinal cord are damaged and signals from the brain no longer reach muscles below the injury site. Nerve fibers try to cross the injury site and reconnect with other fibers, but become trapped at the scar site by sticky proteins called proteoglycans. ISP is designed to act on the receptor on the surface of the nerve cells which turns off a response to the proteoglycans that causes the blockage. ISP induced 'sprouting' of these fibers below the injury site.
During the experiment, 26 rats were given severe spinal cord
injuries followed by daily injections of ISP for seven weeks. 21 of the 26
regained one or more of three functions - the ability to walk, to balance and
to control when and how much they urinated. Some of them regained all three,
others one or two, and five none of the functions.
The study is published in the journal Nature.
Source: Medindia
The study is published in the journal Nature.
Source: Medindia
Bell's Palsy
Bell''s palsy is facial nerve disorder that causes weakness of the muscles on one side of the face. Its cause is unknown but most people make a full recovery within 8 to 12 weeks.
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 Paralysis Can Be Averted by Monitoring the Spinal Cord During Surgery: GuidelineProposal to supervise the spinal cord during spinal surgery and certain chest surgeries to help avoid paralysis or loss of muscle function, related to the surgeries. | Advertisement
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