Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a crippling neurological disorder that has a significant economic impact on those who are affected as well as the healthcare system. Currently, $2.35 million per patient is thought to be the anticipated lifetime cost of an SCI sufferer. Injury to the spinal cord can have terrible, lasting consequences. They may render patients immobile or unable to regulate their bowels, depending on the extent and location of the injury. They may result in discomfort, impotence, or uncontrollable spasms. For the purpose of creating more effective treatments, it is crucial to comprehend the body’s reactions to spinal-cord injuries better.
Read Also: Unraveling the Mystery of Phantom Limb Pain: Triggers and Therapeutic Options
Human Spine
The response was far more pronounced in young lab mice
The immune system’s capacity to respond to spinal-cord injuries appears to deteriorate with age. A new study identifies potential ways to enhance that capacity and aid in patients’ healing. The research sheds light on how the immune system reacts to spinal cord injury and why that reaction weakens over time. It also clarifies how crucial the membranes protecting the spinal cord play in building an immune reaction to damage. With the help of this knowledge, medical professionals might one day be able to boost the body’s immune response and enhance patient outcomes, especially in the older population.
The research comes from the lab of Jonathan Kipnis, who in 2015, while working at UVA, made the astounding revelation that the brain and immune system were linked by vessels that were previously believed to be nonexistent. Before that, it was thought that the immune system was essentially walled off from the brain. The discovery of the vessels in the meninges (membranes covering the brain) completely rewrote textbooks and ushered in a new era of neurological study. One of the trendiest areas of neuroscience research today is “neuroimmunology,” which is the study of the interaction between the nervous and immune systems. This field is poised to revolutionize our understanding of the brain and our ability to treat a wide range of neurological disorders.
Read Also: Researchers Use Fenofibrate an Old Cholesterol-Lowering Drug to Reverse Spinal Injury
Additionally, immune cells’ reactions to spinal-cord damage were measured by another team of scientists. They discovered that the response was far more pronounced in young lab mice than in older ones, indicating that researchers may be able to target certain immune cells to speed spinal cord injury repair.
Clinical significance
The findings collectively point to new directions for research regarding the spinal cord meninges and their connections with other central nervous system parts. This is a promising finding that could result in novel therapeutic strategies for people with spinal cord injuries.
Conclusion
Many people are excluded from full involvement in society due to misconceptions, unfavorable attitudes, and physical restrictions on mobility. These results should be able to point to druggable targets and intervention points that can hasten to heal, treat pain, and deal with other long-term consequences of injury.
References
Salvador, A. F. M., Dykstra, T., Rustenhoven, J., Smirnov, I., Kipnis, J., Herz, J., et al. (2023). Age-dependent immune and lymphatic responses after spinal cord injury. Neuron. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2023.04.011
