‘Exciting’ progress for spinal injury drug

Pioneers in the field of neurological therapy want paramedics to be armed with a breakthrough drug to quickly stop the damage spreading.

It’s the latest stage in the development of a project which started in 2011 at the University of Auckland.

The potential to carry the drug in the back of ambulances follows trials on rodents. Those tests confirmed a dose of peptide medicine could be administered into people’s veins, instead of straight to the spinal cord. Continue Reading »

Nutlins cancer drug may be able to reverse spinal cord damage

LONDON, UK – A group of drugs being tested for cancer treatment have been shown to present promising results for spinal cord injury in mice, according to a new report.

The cancer drug called Nutlins was administered to mice as part of a cancer study, but doctors discovered that mice taking the drug recovered much more movement than those left untreated.

The Imperial College London has said the drugs should now be tested in rats and could possibly be used in human trials within 10 years. Continue Reading »

Serotonin Causes Spasms in Spinal Cord Injury Patients

Uncontrolled serotonin contributes to spasms in spinal cord injury patients, according to a study published in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark studied the enzyme L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) in animal models with spinal cord injury and Parkinson’s disease. The enzyme, the researchers believe, contribute to the manufacture of serotonin. The serotonin activates muscle control, and when there is too much serotonin pumped into the system, the motor controls are sent scrambling. Continue Reading »

Nanoparticles Ease Inflammation In Mice With Spinal Cord Injuries

Drug Delivery: Overactive immune cells swallow Trojan horse nanoparticles that carry anti-inflammatory drugs

The human immune system can be an overenthusiastic caregiver. In a spinal cord wound, immune cells often aggravate the injury by stirring up inflammation long after it’s needed, which hinders healing. Now a group of Italian researchers demonstrate that, in mice, they can quiet the cells responsible for chronic inflammation around the spinal cord by targeting them directly with drug-laden nanoparticles Continue Reading »

StemCells, Inc. Receives FDA Authorization of IND for Spinal Cord Injury

NEWARK, Calif., Oct. 2, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — StemCells, Inc. (Nasdaq:STEM) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the Company’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for clinical testing of the Company’s proprietary HuCNS-SC® human neural stem cells as a treatment for spinal cord injury. As a first action under this IND, the Company is working to open U.S. sites for its Phase I/II clinical trial for chronic spinal cord injury, which is currently underway in Switzerland and Canada. Continue Reading »

First Oral Drug for Spinal Cord Injury Improves Movement in Mice, Study Shows

COLUMBUS, Ohio – An experimental oral drug given to mice after a spinal cord injury was effective at improving limb movement after the injury, a new study shows.

The compound efficiently crossed the blood-brain barrier, did not increase pain and showed no toxic effects to the animals.

“This is a first to have a drug that can be taken orally to produce functional improvement with no toxicity in a rodent model,” said Sung Ok Yoon, associate professor of molecular & cellular biochemistry at Ohio State University and lead author of the study. “So far, in the spinal cord injury field with rodent models, effective treatments have included more than one therapy, often involving invasive means. Here, with a single agent, we were able to obtain functional improvement.” Continue Reading »

Acorda Acquires Medtronic Drug, Fills Out Mid-Stage Neurology Pipeline

Today Hawthorne, NY-based Acorda Therapeutics (NASDAQ: ACOR) announced that it licensed an experimental compound to treat spinal cord injury from medical-device giant Medtronic (NYSE: MDT). Acorda paid $3 million up front for worldwide rights to the compound, and pledged up to $32 million in regulatory and development milestone payments to Medtronic, which is based in Minneapolis. Medtronic will also receive a “single digit” percentage royalty if the product is commercialized, Acorda says. Continue Reading »

Cancer Drug Improves Movement in Rats with Spine Injury

Researchers say the anti-cancer drug Taxol, normally used to treat breast cancer, might also hold promise as a way to help people recover from crippling spinal cord injuries.

Researchers at Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Germany report that Taxol improves movement and function in rats with spine injuries, by promoting nerve regeneration. They say the drug appears to eliminate the physical obstacles that normally prevent injured nerve cells from regrowing axons. Continue Reading »

Cancer Drug Aids The Regeneration Of Spinal Cord Injuries

Taxol stabilizes growing nerve cells and reduces the barrier-function of scar tissue

After a spinal cord injury a number of factors impede the regeneration of nerve cells. Two of the most important of these factors are the destabilization of the cytoskeleton and the development of scar tissue. While the former prevents regrowth of cells, the latter creates a barrier for severed nerve cells. Scientists of the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried and their colleagues from the Kennedy Krieger Institute and University of Miami in the United States, and the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, have now shown that the cancer drug Taxol reduces both regeneration obstacles. Science, January 27, 2011 Continue Reading »

Pot for Pain? This Is Your Law on Drugs

Canada’s medical marijuana regime in shambles, say critics.

Imagine that you have a painful, debilitating medical or psychological condition. You and your doctor agree that a certain medicine is the best available treatment. Now imagine that, rather than taking your doctor’s note into the nearest drug store and waiting a few minutes while the pleasant young person behind the counter fills your prescription, you have to send off forms to Ottawa and wait as long as eight to 10 months before you can get your medicine. In the meantime, if you find a way to access what you need in a less formal way, you live every day with the prospect of armed men in body armor breaking into your home and arresting you. Continue Reading »