Potential New Therapy for Spinal Cord Injury
Posted by
Randy WaltonOctober 17, 2007 5:40 PMScientists at the University of California, San Diego, the alma mater of both Randy Walton and Scott Barber, have identified a potential new therapy for chronic spasticity and rigity, and painful condition that is frequently the result of spinal cord injury.
According to yesterday's press release, in work with rats it has been demonstrated that an "AMPA receptor antagonist called NGX424 (tezampanel), being developed by Torrey Pines Therapeutics, Inc., of La Jolla, California, is highly potent in suppressing spasticity and rigidity."
Paraplegia from spinal cord ischemia is a serious complication that occurs in 20 to 40 percent of patients undergoing a surgical process called aortic cross-clamping. When the surgeon works on the aorta to correct a potentially lethal aneurysm, this large vessel carrying all of the blood flow from the heart must be temporarily blocked. If clamping occurs for more than 30 minutes, the procedure can result in the loss of specialized spinal cord neurons called spinal inhibitory neurons. Loss of these neurons can lead to irreversible spasticity and rigidity, or loss of muscle control, in the lower limbs."This exaggerated muscle tone, or uncontrolled spasms, is a serious complication of either ischemic or traumatic injury to the spinal cord -- such as injuries resulting from a diving or car accident," said Professor Martin Marsala. Several other conditions can lead to spasticity/rigidity, including brain trauma, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy or Parkinson's disease - all of which lead to increased peripheral muscle tone.
The complete study will be published in the October 17 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.
For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Head and Brain Injury.