Abstract
Although research on neural tissue repair has made enormous progress in recent years, spinal cord injury remains a devastating condition for which there is still no cure. In fact, recent estimates of prevalence in the United States reveal that spinal cord injury has undergone a five-fold increase in the last decades. Though, it has become the second most common neurological problem in North America after Alzheimer’s disease. Despite modern trauma units and intensive care treatments, spinal cord injury remains associated with several comorbid conditions and unbearable health care costs. Regular administration of a plethora of symptomatic drug treatments aimed at controlling related-secondary complications and life-threatening problems in chronic spinal cord-injured patients has recently been reported. This article provides a thorough overview of the main drug classes and products currently used or in development for chronic spinal cord injury. Special attention is paid to a novel class of drug treatment designed to provide a holistic solution for several chronic complications and diseases related with spinal cord injury. There is clear evidence showing that new class can elicit ‘on-demand’ episodes of rhythmic and stereotyped walking activity in previously completely paraplegic animals and may consequently constitute a simple therapy against several physical inactivity-related comorbid problems. Understanding further pharmacological approaches to chronic spinal cord injury may improve both life expectancy and overall quality of life while reducing unsustainable cost increases associated with this debilitation condition.
Keywords: Chronic spinal cord injury, comorbid problems, symptomatic treatments, central pattern generator, Spinalon, treadmill training.
Current Pharmaceutical Design
Title:Pharmacological Approaches to Chronic Spinal Cord Injury
Volume: 19 Issue: 24
Author(s): Inge Steuer, Pascal Rouleau and Pierre A. Guertin
Affiliation:
Keywords: Chronic spinal cord injury, comorbid problems, symptomatic treatments, central pattern generator, Spinalon, treadmill training.
Abstract: Although research on neural tissue repair has made enormous progress in recent years, spinal cord injury remains a devastating condition for which there is still no cure. In fact, recent estimates of prevalence in the United States reveal that spinal cord injury has undergone a five-fold increase in the last decades. Though, it has become the second most common neurological problem in North America after Alzheimer’s disease. Despite modern trauma units and intensive care treatments, spinal cord injury remains associated with several comorbid conditions and unbearable health care costs. Regular administration of a plethora of symptomatic drug treatments aimed at controlling related-secondary complications and life-threatening problems in chronic spinal cord-injured patients has recently been reported. This article provides a thorough overview of the main drug classes and products currently used or in development for chronic spinal cord injury. Special attention is paid to a novel class of drug treatment designed to provide a holistic solution for several chronic complications and diseases related with spinal cord injury. There is clear evidence showing that new class can elicit ‘on-demand’ episodes of rhythmic and stereotyped walking activity in previously completely paraplegic animals and may consequently constitute a simple therapy against several physical inactivity-related comorbid problems. Understanding further pharmacological approaches to chronic spinal cord injury may improve both life expectancy and overall quality of life while reducing unsustainable cost increases associated with this debilitation condition.
Export Options
About this article
Cite this article as:
Steuer Inge, Rouleau Pascal and Guertin A. Pierre, Pharmacological Approaches to Chronic Spinal Cord Injury, Current Pharmaceutical Design 2013; 19 (24) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1381612811319240009
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1381612811319240009 |
Print ISSN 1381-6128 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1873-4286 |
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
"Tuberculosis Prevention, Diagnosis and Drug Discovery"
The Nobel Prize-winning discoveries of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and streptomycin have enabled an appropriate diagnosis and an effective treatment of tuberculosis (TB). Since then, many newer diagnosis methods and drugs have been saving millions of lives. Despite advances in the past, TB is still a leading cause of infectious disease mortality ...read more
Current Pharmaceutical challenges in the treatment and diagnosis of neurological dysfunctions
Neurological dysfunctions (MND, ALS, MS, PD, AD, HD, ALS, Autism, OCD etc..) present significant challenges in both diagnosis and treatment, often necessitating innovative approaches and therapeutic interventions. This thematic issue aims to explore the current pharmaceutical landscape surrounding neurological disorders, shedding light on the challenges faced by researchers, clinicians, and ...read more
Emerging and re-emerging diseases
Faced with a possible endemic situation of COVID-19, the world has experienced two important phenomena, the emergence of new infectious diseases and/or the resurgence of previously eradicated infectious diseases. Furthermore, the geographic distribution of such diseases has also undergone changes. This context, in turn, may have a strong relationship with ...read more
Melanoma and Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer Treatment: Standard of Care and Recent Advances
In this thematic issue, we aim to provide a standard of care of the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer. The editor will invite authors from different countries who will write review articles of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. The Diagnosis, Staging, Surgical Treatment, Non-Surgical Treatment all ...read more
- Author Guidelines
- Graphical Abstracts
- Fabricating and Stating False Information
- Research Misconduct
- Post Publication Discussions and Corrections
- Publishing Ethics and Rectitude
- Increase Visibility of Your Article
- Archiving Policies
- Peer Review Workflow
- Order Your Article Before Print
- Promote Your Article
- Manuscript Transfer Facility
- Editorial Policies
- Allegations from Whistleblowers
- Announcements
Related Articles
-
Multi-Target-Directed Ligands and other Therapeutic Strategies in the Search of a Real Solution for Alzheimer’s Disease
Current Neuropharmacology Minocycline and Doxycycline: More Than Antibiotics
Current Molecular Pharmacology An Overview of Current Applications of Nanotechnology in Biomedical Research: A Patent Survey
Recent Patents on Nanomedicine Age and Dose-Dependent Effects of Alpha-Lipoic Acid on Human Microtubule- Associated Protein Tau-Induced Endoplasmic Reticulum Unfolded Protein Response: Implications for Alzheimer’s Disease
CNS & Neurological Disorders - Drug Targets Functions of MAPR (Membrane-Associated Progesterone Receptor) Family Members As Heme/Steroid-Binding Proteins
Current Protein & Peptide Science Therapeutic Potential of Janus Kinase 3 (JAK3) Inhibitors
Current Pharmaceutical Design Osteoprotegerin and Diabetes-Associated Pathologies
Current Molecular Medicine Commentary: Functional Neuronal CB2 Cannabinoid Receptors in the CNS
Current Neuropharmacology Melatonin as a Therapeutic Resource for Inflammatory Visual Diseases
Current Neuropharmacology Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the Umbilical Cord: Phenotypic Characterization, Secretome and Applications in Central Nervous System Regenerative Medicine
Current Stem Cell Research & Therapy p75NTR as a Therapeutic Target for Neuropsychiatric Diseases
Current Molecular Pharmacology Combinatorial Approaches for the Identification of Brain Drug Delivery Targets
Current Pharmaceutical Design Targeting Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha for Alzheimer’s Disease
Current Alzheimer Research Pharmacological Neuroprotection in Stroke: Rationale, State-of-the-art and Future Directions
Current Neuropharmacology Optical Coherence Tomography Detection of Neurodegeneration in Multiple Sclerosis
CNS & Neurological Disorders - Drug Targets Whole body vibration training improves walking performance of stroke patients with knee hyperextension: a randomized controlled pilot study
CNS & Neurological Disorders - Drug Targets Non-Analgesic Effects of Opioids: Opioids’ Effects on Sleep (Including Sleep Apnea)
Current Pharmaceutical Design Intravitreal Inserts of Steroids to Treat Diabetic Macular Edema
Current Diabetes Reviews In Silico Studies in Drug Research Against Neurodegenerative Diseases
Current Neuropharmacology Computational Exploration of Natural Compounds to Target Cytosolic Phospholipase A 2 Protein: A Novel Therapeutic Target for Spinal Cord Injury
Current Computer-Aided Drug Design