Chan Carmen C M
Laboratory for Neuronal Growth Mechanisms, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Wako-city, Saitama, Japan.
Recent Pat CNS Drug Discov. 2008 Nov;3(3):189-99. doi: 10.2174/157488908786242434.
Spinal cord injury leads to a devastating cascade of secondary complications that eventually results in the formation of scar tissue many times the size of the original insult. Inflammation plays a very important role towards the development of such scar, but paradoxically, at the same time it has neuroprotective properties. Only recently have we understood enough about the relevant events to make the repair of injured spinal cords a reachable goal. Over the past decade, researchers have designed and tested numerous innovative therapeutic strategies, and many of such involve manipulation of the immune response. Interestingly, both immuno-stimulatory and immuno-suppressive interventions have shown positive results, which include the prevention of further tissue damage, prevention of secondary cell death and axonal degeneration, promotion of remyelination, stimulation of axonal regeneration, and facilitation of sensorimotor function recovery.
脊髓损伤会引发一系列毁灭性的继发性并发症，最终导致瘢痕组织形成，其大小是最初损伤的许多倍。炎症在这种瘢痕的形成过程中起着非常重要的作用，但矛盾的是，它同时具有神经保护特性。直到最近，我们才对相关事件有了足够的了解，使脊髓损伤修复成为一个可实现的目标。在过去十年中，研究人员设计并测试了众多创新治疗策略，其中许多涉及对免疫反应的调控。有趣的是，免疫刺激和免疫抑制干预均显示出积极效果，包括预防进一步的组织损伤、防止继发性细胞死亡和轴突退化、促进髓鞘再生、刺激轴突再生以及促进感觉运动功能恢复。
