Research Into Cause of Involuntary Movements After Spinal Cord Injury Yields Promising Results
Spinal cord injury often results in at least partial paralysis.
Patients may lose the ability to move limbs completely, or may just have difficulty controlling movements.
Even when movement is very limited, people with injuries to the spinal cord may experience involuntary limb movements and spasms, which can cause problems of their own.
Managing involuntary movements is an important part of spinal cord injury treatment.
One popular medication for this symptom is baclofen, a drug that suppresses the nervous system.
While this may be effective at controlling spasms, it hinders motor learning, which is a key component of recovering from an injury to the spinal cord.
Thus, finding a new and better way to control involuntary movements is one area of focus for researchers.
Researchers recently concluded that the enzyme L-amino acid decarboxylase is likely a relevant target of treatment.
The enzyme produces serotonin, a neurotransmitter that plays a role in controlling movements.
After a spinal cord injury, serotonin production tends to increase dramatically as the body tries to deal with the trauma; this overproduction may be at the heart of involuntary movements and spasms post-injury.
The researchers reached their conclusion based on a study on rats.
The development of a drug that controls the production of serotonin via the enzyme may be the answer to managing spasms without inhibiting patients' ability to learn movement again.
It may also give patients a safer alternative, as baclofen is associated with impaired thinking and severe withdrawal symptoms including seizures and hallucinations.
See more on the research into serotonin and the role it plays in involuntary movements at http://www.
sciencedaily.
com/releases/2014/09/140904103803.
htm.
This is not the only research being done into spinal cord injury treatment.
Researchers conducted a rat study to assess whether the herb Ji-Sui-Kang helped the rodents recover.
They found less tissue damage and greater functional recovery among rats that received the herbal treatment.
It should be noted that very little research has been done into the herb otherwise, so side effects and risks are unknown.
See more on the study at http://iospress.
metapress.
com/content/k2107l8l26664548/?issue=5&genre=article&spage=597&issn=0922-6028&volume=31.
Another area of research being done is into the potential benefits of stem cell therapy in the spinal cord.
Stem cells are "blank slate" cells that become other types of cells in the body.
Used in the cord, they may help patients regain sensory and motor ability.
While an injury to the spinal cord is always a serious matter, it's not a hopeless situation.
In the coming years, patients may have recourse to therapies that help without hindering recovery.
Patients may lose the ability to move limbs completely, or may just have difficulty controlling movements.
Even when movement is very limited, people with injuries to the spinal cord may experience involuntary limb movements and spasms, which can cause problems of their own.
Managing involuntary movements is an important part of spinal cord injury treatment.
One popular medication for this symptom is baclofen, a drug that suppresses the nervous system.
While this may be effective at controlling spasms, it hinders motor learning, which is a key component of recovering from an injury to the spinal cord.
Thus, finding a new and better way to control involuntary movements is one area of focus for researchers.
Researchers recently concluded that the enzyme L-amino acid decarboxylase is likely a relevant target of treatment.
The enzyme produces serotonin, a neurotransmitter that plays a role in controlling movements.
After a spinal cord injury, serotonin production tends to increase dramatically as the body tries to deal with the trauma; this overproduction may be at the heart of involuntary movements and spasms post-injury.
The researchers reached their conclusion based on a study on rats.
The development of a drug that controls the production of serotonin via the enzyme may be the answer to managing spasms without inhibiting patients' ability to learn movement again.
It may also give patients a safer alternative, as baclofen is associated with impaired thinking and severe withdrawal symptoms including seizures and hallucinations.
See more on the research into serotonin and the role it plays in involuntary movements at http://www.
sciencedaily.
com/releases/2014/09/140904103803.
htm.
This is not the only research being done into spinal cord injury treatment.
Researchers conducted a rat study to assess whether the herb Ji-Sui-Kang helped the rodents recover.
They found less tissue damage and greater functional recovery among rats that received the herbal treatment.
It should be noted that very little research has been done into the herb otherwise, so side effects and risks are unknown.
See more on the study at http://iospress.
metapress.
com/content/k2107l8l26664548/?issue=5&genre=article&spage=597&issn=0922-6028&volume=31.
Another area of research being done is into the potential benefits of stem cell therapy in the spinal cord.
Stem cells are "blank slate" cells that become other types of cells in the body.
Used in the cord, they may help patients regain sensory and motor ability.
While an injury to the spinal cord is always a serious matter, it's not a hopeless situation.
In the coming years, patients may have recourse to therapies that help without hindering recovery.
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