Lung disease drug offers spinal injury hope

A DRUG developed by British scientists to treat lung disease has repaired spinal cord injuries.

In experiments, movement and sensation in mice improved by 85 per cent – after just three days. The therapy was administered within 24 hours.

Lead author Professor Zubair Ahmed, of the University of Birmingham, said: “This drug has the potential to be a first-in-class treatment against some of the key pathological drivers of spinal cord injury.

“It could revolutionise prospects for recovery of patients.”

Around 2,500 people a year in the UK are left with the life-changing damage – usually as a result of car or sports accidents, violence and falls.

Sticky scar tissue prevents repair by acting like glue, leading to paralysis below the site.

The medication, called AZD1236, is manufactured by Astrazeneca as a pill to control and reduce progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Professor Ahmed and colleagues have now found it fuels nerve cells, making regeneration possible.

The British team has filed a patent application for the spinal cord injury therapy described in Clinical and Translational Medicine.

They are now seeking investors and partners to take the “promising” technique to clinical trials.