Research

National Institute of Health

The National Institute of Health (NIH) invests in science to improve the nation's health. NIH issues grants to leading researchers, hospitals, universities, and labs to advance spinal cord injury recovery, therapies, cures, and quality of life. The NIH provides a comprehensive database of all current projects including funding, researcher contact information, and results. Below are some of the SCI related projects that the 2009 stimulus bill funded. Follow the link to the pubmed.gov entry for published reports, details, funding, and contact information for the project.

Information from NIH SCI Projects.

Acute treatment and prevention of secondary damage

Damage to nerve cells and fibers and to supporting cells within the spinal cord continues to progress for several days, perhaps even weeks, following a traumatic injury. NIH supports many grants that aim to understand the cascading mechanisms responsible for this secondary damage and to develop interventions that protect the spinal cord and maximize recovery. Examples of ARRA funded grants include:

An exploratory grant is developing a new technology (using “hydrogels’) to provide sustained release of drugs into the spinal cord that can reduce the secondary damage that continues for many hours after an injury. Pubmed Entry

A research grant is identifying therapies to protect blood vessel cells in the spinal cord following trauma. Blood vessel cells are often the first cells to die, triggering further damage to nerve cells. Pubmed Entry

Scientists are studying matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), a group of proteins that contribute to both damage and tissue repair following spinal cord injury. The goal is to develop therapies that block the harmful actions of MMPs without compromising their desirable effects. Pubmed Entry

Treating the consequences of spinal cord injury

Because of improved care, people are far more likely to survive a spinal cord injury than in the past. However, spinal cord injury causes partial or complete loss of voluntary movement and sensation, with the extent depending on the degree of damage and the level at which the spinal cord is injured. People with spinal cord injuries also confront chronic pain, loss of bowel and bladder control, pressure sores, and increased susceptibility to respiratory and heart problems, which can be life threatening. Examples of ARRA grants addressing these issues include:

A Challenge grant is developing and testing in animal models a novel stem cell transplantation strategy to treat bladder dysfunction and involuntary muscle spasms, which are a major health problem for people with spinal cord injuries. Pubmed Entry

Another Challenge grant is evaluating a minimally invasive method to activate muscles electrically to restore cough in people with spinal cord injuries. This could reduce potentially life threatening respiratory complications and improve quality of life. Pubmed Entry

An exploratory grant is testing a novel approach to restoring respiratory function after spinal cord injury in animals. The therapy is based on new understanding of drug induced plasticity in the nerve cell circuits that control respiration. Pubmed Entry

A new research grant is studying how the drugs that treat spasticity enhance or interfere with voluntary movement control in people with incomplete spinal cord injuries. The findings will have important implications for therapies aimed at maximizing function. Pubmed Entry

Regeneration and Repair

The brain and spinal cord do not repair themselves following damage. Research is revealing the factors that block regeneration and restoration of function to overcome these barriers and encourage the latent capacity of the spinal cord to recover. Examples of ARRA funded projects in this area include:

A new research grant is developing therapies to repair spinal roots using natural “neurotrophic” (nerve cell growth and survival promoting) substances. Spinal roots, which connect nerves of the body to the spinal cord, are often damaged in vehicle accidents or falls, resulting in life-long disability. Pubmed Entry

Scientists are studying how molecules called extracellular proteases promote regeneration and functional recovery following spinal cord injury. Understanding proteases may lead to therapies that promote formation of new nerve cell connections to restore lost function. Pubmed Entry

Research focused on the molecules that retard growth of nerve fibers in the damaged brain and spinal cord aims to develop interventions that overcome these factors and encourage growth and recovery following injury. Pubmed Entry

A new research grant is promoting nerve fiber regeneration and functional recovery after spinal cord injury in mice by manipulating a protein called mTOR, which recent studies implicate as a regulator of axon growth. Pubmed Entry

A GO grant is studying the amazing ability of the axolotl (Mexican salamander) to regenerate following damage to the brain and spinal cord. The goal is to identify targets for interventions to encourage regeneration and recovery in people following brain and spinal trauma. Pubmed Entry

A major supplement to an ongoing research grant will enable researchers to accelerate promising studies to repair white matter loss following spinal cord injury, which contributes to functional problems. The experiments in mice use a growth factor to encourage the spinal cord to generate new glial (supporting) cells, which make up white matter, following spinal cord injury. Pubmed Entry

Working 2 Walk

The Working 2 Walk conference is an annual gathering of members of the SCI community, researchers, advocates, and industry. The conference took place in Phoenix, AZ on November 11th-13th, 2010. Visit the site to learn more (Working to Walk). Below, three important researchers presented some of their progress:

Dr. Wise Young, Rutgers University, Lithium treatment of neuropathic pain in chronic SCI. CareCure Discussion Thread

Dr. Phil Horner, University of Washington, Stem Cell Treatment, Promises and Challenges. University Website

Dr. Stephen Davies, University of Colorado - Denver, Making the Right Type of Cells for SCI Repair. University Website