Spinal cord injury: the promise of translational research.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a condition with devastating consequences for the patient, family, and society. Although effective treatments for SCI remain limited, there have been many advances in recent years, which have promise for the future from a clinical translational perspective. This issue of Neurosurgical Focus explores some of the current basic science, preclinical, and clinical research directed towards this goal. Clinical investigations are also discussed with regard to the treatment and management of different types of SCI and of SCI in different populations. The issue concludes with a review of the current, ongoing, and planned clinical trials, providing a glimpse of the promising new therapies being developed for the treatment of SCI.