Breakthrough jab could heal spinal injuries
SCIENTISTS are pushing for human trials on a revolutionary jab for spinal cord injuries – after it cured paralysed mice within four weeks.
The animals regained the ability to walk after a single dose of the drug, which encourages nerves to regrow.
Professor Samuel Stupp, who led the US study, said: “Our research aims to find a therapy that can prevent individuals from becoming paralysed after major trauma or disease.
Approved
“For decades, this has remained a major challenge for scientists because our body’s central nervous system – which includes the brain and spinal cord – does not have any significant capacity to repair itself after injury or the onset of a degenerative disease.
“We are going straight to the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) to start the process of getting this new therapy approved for use in patients.”
Human trials could start next year after positive lab tests on cells.
Damage to the spinal cord interrupts the stream of electrical signals from the brain to the body and can lead to paralysis below an injury. The drug works by sending signals that trigger cells to regenerate.
In tests, long, spindly parts of severed nerves – called axons – were mended and scar tissue preventing healing disappeared.
The study in the journal Science also found the drug is absorbed by the body without side effects.
An estimated 50,000 people in the UK have spinal cord injuries, which can often reduce life expectancy.
Prof Stupp said: “I wanted to make a difference on the outcomes of spinal cord injury and tackle this problem, given the tremendous impact it could have on the lives of patients.”
His team at Northwestern University, Illinois, also believe the science behind the drug could be developed to treat illnesses that affect the central nervous system.
Prof Stupp said: “The tissues we have successfully regenerated in the injured spinal cord are similar to those in the brain affected by stroke and...diseases, such as motor neurone disease, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.”