Published December 03, 2014 Scientists have developed a new chemical compound that they say shows extraordinary promise in restoring muscle function in spinal cord injury patients. The study, partly funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published in the journal Nature, used the compound intracellular sigma peptide (ISP), which was developed by Case Western Reserve scientists. It was used in 26 rats with severe spinal cord injury, and researchers recorded that the compound allowed paralyzed muscles to activate in more than 80 percent of subjects tested. The team found that after seven weeks of daily injections, 21 of the rats regained the ability to urinate, move or both. Researchers noted the peptide allowed for nerve fibers to overcome scarring that normally blocked their regrowth, according to a news release. This recovery is unprecedented, Jerry Silver, senior study author and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine professor of neurosciences said in the news release. Each of the 21 animals got something back in terms of function. For any spinal cord-injured patient today, it would be considered extraordinary to regain even one of these functions, especially bladder function, he said. When a spinal cord injury occurs, proteoglycans -- key … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 3-Dec-2014 Contact: Jeannette Spalding jeannette.spalding@case.edu 216-368-3004 Case Western Reserve University @casenews Case Western Reserve scientists have developed a new chemical compound that shows extraordinary promise in restoring function lost to spinal cord injury. The compound, which the researchers dubbed intracellular sigma peptide (ISP), allowed paralyzed muscles to activate in more than 80 percent of the animals tested. The remarkable study, partly funded by the National Institutes of Health, appears in the December 3 edition of the journal Nature. Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Professor of Neurosciences Jerry Silver, PhD, the senior author, led an international team of scientists in the research in which 21 of 26 animals with spinal cord injury regained the ability to urinate, move or both. In the experiments, the peptide appears to allow nerve fibers to overcome scarring that normally blocks their regrowth. "This recovery is unprecedented," Silver said. "Each of the 21 animals got something back in terms of function. For any spinal cord-injured patient today, it would be considered extraordinary to regain even one of these functions, especially bladder function. ISP additionally has treatment potential for diseases where the body produces destructive scarring such as heart attack, peripheral nerve … Continue reading →

By increasing the amount of serotonin in the spinal cord, an experimental drug helps nerve connections work better. Bee Smith/Ocean/Corbis hide caption By increasing the amount of serotonin in the spinal cord, an experimental drug helps nerve connections work better. A scientist who chose to ignore the mainstream nearly 30 years ago has found a new way to regenerate nerves in the spinal cord, at least in animals. A drug that Jerry Silver, a professor of neuroscience at Case Western Reserve University, helped design a drug that has allowed paralyzed rats to regain bladder function and even walk. The drug works by releasing nerve fibers that have become trapped in scar tissue after a spinal cord injury, Silver says. "Now we've got something that might work in people," though it hasn't been tested in humans yet, he says. The study was published Wednesday in Nature. Everybody else in the world was asking why nerves grow where they do. And I thought I'd do something different and ask why they don't grow where they don't. - Jerry Silver The research that led to this drug began in the 1980s. At the time, Silver and many other scientists were studying nerves. "Everybody … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 3-Dec-2014 Contact: Christopher Thomas thomaschr@ninds.nih.gov 301-496-5751 NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Injections of a new drug may partially relieve paralyzing spinal cord injuries, based on indications from a study in rats, which was partly funded by the National Institutes of Health The results demonstrate how fundamental laboratory research may lead to new therapies. "We're very excited at the possibility that millions of people could, one day, regain movements lost during spinal cord injuries," said Jerry Silver, Ph.D., professor of neurosciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, and a senior investigator of the study published in Nature. Every year, tens of thousands of people are paralyzed by spinal cord injuries. The injuries crush and sever the long axons of spinal cord nerve cells, blocking communication between the brain and the body and resulting in paralysis below the injury. On a hunch, Bradley Lang, Ph.D., the lead author of the study and a graduate student in Dr. Silver's lab, came up with the idea of designing a drug that would help axons regenerate without having to touch the healing spinal cord, as current treatments may require. "Originally this was just a side project we brainstormed … Continue reading →