Spinal cord injury: how to keep intact nerves
Developed by researchers at the University of California, working under the guidance of Professor Linda J. Noble-Haeusslein, a new method of spinal cord injury therapy has already demonstrated its effectiveness in experiments on mice. Currently, specialists from the Texas College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences are testing it on previously injured dogs of breeds characterized by short paws and long torsos, including dachshunds, hounds and corgis. They often have spontaneous injuries of the vertebral discs, which can cause damage to the spinal cord and paralysis of the hind legs.
All existing methods of treating the consequences of such injuries in both humans and animals are ineffective.
According to the Journal of Neurotrauma, 2.3% of dogs admitted to veterinary clinics are diagnosed with spontaneous spinal cord injuries; 48-72% of them are in dachshunds: every fifth dachshund gets such an injury during his life. Hounds, corgis, Pekingese and shih tzus (chrysanthemum dogs) are more susceptible to spontaneous spinal cord injuries than others.
In the USA, according to the National Center for Spinal Cord Injury Statistics, about 365,000 people live with spinal injuries of varying severity (more than 80% of them are men). Every year, 12,000 new spinal cord injuries are diagnosed in the United States. The main causes of such injuries are car accidents (40%); falls (28%); violence (15%); sports (8%). The annual cost of medical care for a spinal patient can exceed $ 4 million.
The new method of therapy is not aimed at restoring damaged areas of the spinal cord, but at reducing the severity of secondary injuries. The fact is that most of the spinal cord injuries trigger a cascade of chemical reactions in its tissues that damage nearby cells and conducting nerve pathways. This contributes to the disruption of various body functions, including the mobility of the hind limbs.
A few years ago, Professor Noble and her colleagues demonstrated that blocking the action of one of the enzymes – matrix metalloproteinase-9 – in the spinal cord of mice contributes to the recovery of animals after spinal cord injuries. This enzyme can destroy contacts between nerve cells and cause local inflammatory processes leading to cell death.
The veterinary clinic of Texas A&M University annually receives about 120 dogs with spinal cord injuries. As part of the study, veterinarians will, with the consent of the owners, inject them with a drug that blocks the activity of matrix metalloproteinase-9. After that, the animals will undergo a recovery-promoting rehabilitation process.
If successful in the future, the developed approach can be modified to treat people with spinal injuries.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of the University of California:
Saving Dogs with Spinal Cord Injuries.
23.01.2012