Enhancing Spinal Plasticity Amplifies the Benefits of Rehabilitative Training and Improves Recovery from Stroke

After a stroke, the brain and spinal cord can adapt and rewire themselves, a process called plasticity, leading to some recovery of movement and sensation. However, this rewiring mainly happens in the initial weeks after the stroke, leaving many survivors with lasting disabilities even after rehabilitation. This study explores whether boosting plasticity in the spinal cord, even long after the stroke, can improve recovery. The research team used an enzyme called chondroitinase ABC to remove molecules that inhibit nerve growth in the spinal cords of rats weeks after they had a stroke. The findings suggest that this spinal cord therapy can amplify the benefits of rehabilitation training, potentially reducing permanent disability in stroke survivors. By removing these inhibitory signals, the brain's circuits can better reconnect to the spinal cord, promoting improved motor function.

• 1
  Chondroitinase ABC (ChABC) injections into the spinal cord during chronic stroke induced significant sprouting of corticospinal axons originating in the peri-infarct cortex, indicating increased structural plasticity.
• 2
  ChABC injection during chronic stroke, even without additional training, led to moderate improvements in sensorimotor deficits, suggesting a baseline level of functional recovery from the therapy itself.
• 3
  The most significant finding was that ChABC therapy dramatically potentiated the efficacy of rehabilitative training delivered during chronic stroke, enhancing recovery in a skilled forelimb reaching task.