Browse the latest research summaries in the field of regenerative medicine & stem cells for spinal cord injury patients and caregivers.
Showing 231-240 of 2,317 results
Brain Res, 2016 • May 1, 2016
Stem cell therapies are being tested for various neurological diseases with the goal of regenerating damaged tissue and restoring lost function. While no stem cell therapy is currently approved, resea...
KEY FINDING: In demyelinating diseases and spinal cord injury, the primary goal is to remyelinate intact axons. MSC infusions have shown some improvement in neurologic function, possibly through immunomodulation.
Nature Communications, 2021 • August 13, 2021
This study reveals how physical activity regulates the creation of new nerve cells in adult zebrafish spinal cords through the interaction of two neurotransmitters: acetylcholine (ACh) and GABA. The st...
KEY FINDING: Physical activity induces animal growth and proliferation in the spinal cord.
Annu Rev Med, 2004 • January 1, 2004
The prospects for successful clinical trials of neuroprotective and neurorestorative interventions for patients with acute and chronic myelopathies depend on preclinical animal models of injury and re...
KEY FINDING: Neurotrophic factors, such as BDNF, can reverse atrophy of rubrospinal neurons and promote spinal axon regeneration, even when administered long after SCI.
The Journal of Neuroscience, 2005 • February 2, 2005
The study investigates a combinatory strategy to promote axonal regeneration and functional recovery after complete spinal cord transection in adult rats. The treatment involved reducing inhibitory cu...
KEY FINDING: The combination of SC bridge, olfactory ensheathing glia, and chondroitinase ABC provided significant benefit compared with grafts only or the untreated group.
PNAS, 2005 • September 27, 2005
The study investigated the potential of human central nervous system stem cells (hCNS-SCns) to promote recovery in spinal cord-injured mice. The researchers found that hCNS-SCns survived, migrated, an...
KEY FINDING: hCNS-SCns survive, engraft, differentiate, and are associated with locomotor improvements after traumatic spinal cord injury in NOD-scid mice.
JOURNAL OF NEUROTRAUMA, 2017 • May 15, 2017
Therapeutic interventions after spinal cord injury (SCI) routinely are designed to address multiple aspects of the primary and/or secondary damage that occurs. Exercise has a demonstrated efficacy for ...
KEY FINDING: Acute and chronically injured propriospinal neurons within the lumbar spinal cord displayed the greatest propensity for enhanced regeneration after exercise, which correlates with the direct sensory input to this region from exercised hindlimb muscles.
PNAS, 2017 • May 9, 2017
The study details a method for differentiating human pluripotent stem cells into V2a interneurons, which are crucial for motor control and are often damaged in spinal cord injuries. The differentiatio...
KEY FINDING: The study successfully differentiated human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) into CHX10+ V2a interneurons using a specific combination of signaling molecules.
EMBO Reports, 2021 • August 24, 2021
This study investigates the role of Foxm1, a transcription factor, in spinal cord regeneration in Xenopus tropicalis tadpoles using bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing. The research finds that Foxm1 i...
KEY FINDING: Foxm1 is specifically expressed in the regenerating spinal cord of Xenopus tadpoles, peaking at 3 days post-amputation.
Neurosci Bull, 2013 • August 1, 2013
This review compares axonal regeneration after spinal cord injury (SCI) in mammals and zebrafish, highlighting the differences in intrinsic and extrinsic factors that contribute to regeneration failur...
KEY FINDING: Mammalian CNS axons do not spontaneously regenerate after a lesion due to extrinsic (lack of growth-promoting molecules and surplus of growth-inhibitory molecules) and intrinsic mechanisms.
Stem Cell Reports, 2017 • May 4, 2017
Transplanted multipotent human central nervous system-derived neural stem cells transplanted at doses ranging from 10,000 (low) to 500,000 (very high) cells differentiated predominantly into the oligo...
KEY FINDING: Increasing the transplant dose of hCNS-SCns resulted in a plateau of engraftment at the highest dose (500,000 cells), suggesting a limit to the SCI niche's capacity.