Advances in Spinal Regenerative Therapies Neuroplasticity and regeneration after spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a serious condition that can lead to significant personal, social, and economic challenges. The most common type of traumatic SCI occurs in the neck area, resulting in major sensory, motor, and autonomic problems. Following the initial injury, further damage can occur due to inflammation and other processes that cause neuronal and glial cell death. Additionally, spinal interneurons can undergo changes that can either help or hinder functional recovery. Current treatments include early surgery, blood pressure management, and rehabilitation. Researchers are also exploring neuroregenerative strategies such as using neural stem cells, stem cell transplantation, combinatorial approaches, and cell reprogramming to enhance tissue repair after SCI.

• 1
  Spinal interneuron reorganizations are subtype specific and may be adaptive or maladaptive for a given functional output.
• 2
  Spinal interneuron subtypes may adopt new functional roles post-SCI that were not evident in the uninjured spinal cord.
• 3
  Task-specific therapeutic targeting can significantly enhance adaptive spinal interneuron reorganizations and functional improvements post-SCI.