Role of Apoptosis in CNS Emphasizing Spinal Cord Injuries: A Commentary

Apoptosis is a kind of programmed cell death that is naturally necessary for homeostasis and some processes like organogenesis and implantation of embryo; so it is not pathologic and harmful all the time. The purpose of this commentary was to describe the ways of stimulating and inhibiting the apoptosis process; because rather in the therapeutic protocols we should stimulate or inhibit the process in order to minimize the effects of the traumas and injuries. For using the first results in therapeutic protocols; for example, in order to take action against tumors, we should stimulate apoptosis with chemotherapeutic drugs or other alternatives. On the contrary, in physical traumas of spinal cord, we should inhibit apoptosis with chemical drugs or other alternatives in order to reduce secondary paralysis and other side effects. By collecting the present results and comparing them with our previous original articles, we reached some ideas for the future original research and therapeutic proposals.