Researchers from Northwestern University have developed an injectable therapy that repairs tissue and reverses paralysis due to serious spinal cord injury using dancing molecules.
How scientists conducted the experiment
The researchers who carried the study out on paralyzed mice injected a single dose of the medication to tissues around the spinal cord. They were able to walk again four weeks after researchers gave them the drug.
The therapy treated paralysis by sending signals that triggered cells to regenerate and repair. It had five visible effects. For example, severed axons regenerated, an increased number of motor neurons survived, blood vessels that carried nutrients to the injured area developed, myelin which transmits cells signal, reformed, and scar tissue reduced hence removing the barrier that could inhibit repair and regeneration.
Twelve weeks after the therapy concluded its function, it broke down into cell nutrients. The body used it up, leaving no traces of side effects.
The researchers altered the chemical structure of the therapy to facilitate its collective motion increasing efficiency. No other study had used a similar methodology.
According to lead study author and founding director of the Simpson Querrey Institute of BioNanotechnology and the Center for Regenerative Nanomedicine, Samuel I. Stupp, the study’s goal was to develop a therapy that would prevent paralysis after a disease or major trauma.
The brain and spinal cord have limited regeneration capacity
Scientists have struggled with treating paralysis due to spinal cord injury since the brain, and the spinal cord can only repair themselves after an injury. The researchers plan to approach the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) who could approve clinical trials that will eventually allow them to use the therapy on human patients.
Reports by the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center indicate that about 300,000 people in the U.S alone have a spinal cord injury. Only about 3% of patients with complete injury eventually regain their ability to perform basic functions. Life for the majority of them can be challenging.
Living with spinal cord injuries can be expensive for patients, and they spend millions to cover their medical expenses. In addition, nearly 30% of them end up admitted to hospitals at least once. Their life expectancy has also not improved since the 1980s.
