Listed below are the areas of research funded by CRF. Click the links to read more about them.
Axon Guidance, Synapse Formation, and Neurotransmission
Cellular Replacement, Stem Cells, and Artificial Substrate
Concomitant Function
Growth Inhibition
Neuroprotection
Promotion of Axon Growth and Remyelination
Rehabilitation
Stem Cell Research
Axon Guidance, Synapse Formation, and Neurotransmission
Spinal cord researchers have had increasing success coaxing nerve cells, or neurons, to regenerate their damaged axons following a spinal cord injury. However, to rebuild nerve circuitry and restore lost function, those new axons must travel distances up to several feet, recognize their target neurons, and forge working connections; neurotransmitters, chemicals that facilitate neuron-to-neuron communication, and a host of receptors, the molecular sentinels that intercept the external signals that control the behavior of a neuron, must also be replaced. A growing number of researchers are studying developing organisms to see how their brains and spinal cords assemble their complex wiring in the first place. If this process could be restarted in the adult, then doctors would have a valuable tool for repairing the injured spinal cord. CRF is supporting scientists who are investigating the mechanisms involved in axon guidance, synapse formation, and neurotransmission.
Read more about synapses and neurotransmission.
Cellular Replacement, Stem Cells, and Artificial Substrate
One approach to spinal cord repair involves replacing the neurons and the cells that support them, which are destroyed or damaged by an injury and its aftermath. Toward that end, some scientists are trying to generate dependable lines of primitive spinal cells that, when transplanted, would evolve into the cell types needed to fix the injured cord. Others are investigating transplant techniques, including one that includes transplanting both cells and tiny bridges or tunnels that direct and support replacement axons as they grow across a breach in the spinal cord. Other researchers hope to restart the mechanisms that first created the nervous system. Scientists received CRF grants to investigate cellular replacement and substrates.
Read more about spinal cord cells - neurons, astrocytes, microglia, and oligodendrocytes - and the challenges of central nervous system repair following an injury.
Concomitant Function
In addition to paralysis, spinal cord injuries cause a range of complications, some life threatening. The problems include infection, pneumonia, spasticity, chronic pain, and blood pressure and temperature irregularities. Scientists are increasingly turning their attention to these difficult-to-treat conditions that affect both the health and the quality of life of the spinal cord injured. CRF supports the researchers whose work may lead to treatments for these serious problems.
Growth Inhibition
Unlike cells in the peripheral nervous system, cells in the central nervous system do not regrow after an injury. However, spinal neurons might replace their damaged axons were it not for the body's complicated responses to a trauma. These complex responses transform the area around the lesion into hostile territory for axon regeneration. Scientists have identified a number of so-called growth inhibitors. If treatments could be developed to stymie these inhibitors or prevent them from congregating at the spinal lesion, then the body might repair lost nerve circuitry. Scientists are using grants from CRF to focus on limiting or disarming growth inhibitors in the injured spinal cord.
Read more about axonal growth.
Neuroprotection
For weeks and possibly months after a spinal cord injury, the cellular casualty count rises. The body's immune response and toxic chemicals released by dying cells attack cells that survived the initial injury. Other cells just seem to know that something in their neighborhood is terribly wrong and they self-destruct, a process called apoptosis. This mayhem amplifies the lesion and the loss of function. If this biological ripple effect could be prevented, the injury might wreak less havoc. CRF has awarded grants to scientists who are exploring ways to protect spinal neurons and their support cells in the wake of a spinal cord injury.
Read more about apoptosis.
Promotion of Axon Growth and Remyelination
Although spinal cord injuries destroy axons, the cell bodies to which they belonged often survive. But unlike nerve cells in the peripheral nervous system, neurons in the spinal cord and brain cannot repair their damaged axons or grow new ones. One approach to treating spinal cord injuries is to reprogram neurons so that they can sprout new axons that would recreate the nerve circuits destroyed by an injury. However, for new axons to work properly, they need to be wrapped in myelin, a fatty substance that insulates and protects them. A spinal cord injury also can cause demyelination, in which axons that survive the initial trauma lose their myelin in a process similar to what occurs in multiple sclerosis. Researchers are pursuing strategies to trigger axon regeneration or myelination following an injury.
Read more about demyelination.
Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation therapy helps to maintain bone and muscle mass and is vital for maintaining the general health of people with spinal cord injuries. Yet evidence is mounting that certain forms of rehabilitation may also lead to beneficial changes in the spinal cord itself. For example, nerve circuits above and below an injury retain their ability to reshape themselves to become more efficient and even to assume new roles, a quality known as plasticity. Some of these adaptations can be initiated or enhanced by vigorous exercise. For example, a training routine that involves assisted stepping on a moving treadmill spurs plasticity and improves walking and standing in animals and people with certain types of spinal cord injuries. Known as locomotor training [Link to PDF Bench to Bedside - COMING SOON], this approach also may improve function by promoting axon regeneration and improving communication between nerve cells. Through individual grants, CRF is helping scientists to explore the link between training, ameliorative changes in the damaged cord, and improved function.
Stem Cell Research
Stem cells hold promise for the development of effective treatments for a host of diseases and disorders. They are the primitive cells that give rise to different kinds of tissues in the body and they are "self-renewing" in the body and in the laboratory so that large quantities can be produced for medical purposes. Researchers are working on understanding the basic biological mechanisms of stem cells and aim to use these cells to help repair the injured spinal cord.
Read more about stem cells, the potential of stem cell research, our position on stem cells, other sites that deal with the stem cell issue [Coming Soon], and the latest stem cell research.
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