Therapeutic repair for spinal cord injury: combinatory approaches to address a multifaceted problem

• Published in: EMBO molecular medicine Vol. 12; no. 3; pp. e11505 - n/a
• Main Authors: Griffin, Jarred M, Bradke, Frank
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 06-03-2020; EMBO Press; John Wiley and Sons Inc; Springer Nature
• Subjects: Animal models; axon regeneration; Clinical trials; combination treatments; EMBO08; EMBO27; Extracellular matrix; Glycoproteins; Kinematics; Nervous system; Neurons; Reproducibility; Review; Spinal cord injuries; spinal cord injury; Stem cells; spinal cord injury; axon regeneration; clinical trials; combination treatments; reproducibility
• ISSN: 1757-4676; 1757-4684
• DOI: 10.15252/emmm.201911505

The recent years saw the advent of promising preclinical strategies that combat the devastating effects of a spinal cord injury (SCI) that are progressing towards clinical trials. However, individually, these treatments produce only modest levels of recovery in animal models of SCI that could hamper their implementation into therapeutic strategies in spinal cord injured humans. Combinational strategies have demonstrated greater beneficial outcomes than their individual components alone by addressing multiple aspects of SCI pathology. Clinical trial designs in the future will eventually also need to align with this notion. The scenario will become increasingly complex as this happens and conversations between basic researchers and clinicians are required to ensure accurate study designs and functional readouts.
Graphical Abstract
This review is comprehensive and timely, and provides to the readers a balanced view of research and clinical findings in spinal cord injury.