Growth Factors and Combinatorial Therapies for CNS Regeneration

The adult mammalian spinal cord does not regenerate after injury, unlike the peripheral nervous system. Researchers have been exploring ways to enhance axonal growth in the injured central nervous system using therapies such as neurotrophic factors. Combination therapies that target distinct neural mechanisms appear to be more effective in promoting axonal growth than single therapies applied in isolation. To achieve substantial axonal growth in the injured adult CNS, multiple mechanisms need to be addressed simultaneously because axonal elongation during development depends on a combination of events.

• 1
  Adult axons retain sensitivity to growth factors, and patterns of growth factor sensitivity after injury in adulthood recapitulate developmental patterns.
• 2
  NT-3 enhances the growth of corticospinal axons, the most important upper motor neuron population in primates.
• 3
  A combination of a cell bridge, NT-3 within and beyond the lesion site, and cAMP priming of the injured neuron supported axonal bridging beyond the lesion cavity.