OBJECTIVE To determine the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which acid-sensing ion channel 1a (ASIC1a) plays its role in the secondary injury after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI), and validate the neuroprotective effect of ASIC1a suppression in SCI model in vivo. BACKGROUND Secondary damage after traumatic SCI contributes to the exacerbation of cellular insult and thereby contributes ...

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be used to treat many diseases, including spinal cord injury (SCI). Treatment relies mostly on the precise navigation of cells to the injury site for rebuilding the damaged spinal cord. However, the key factors guiding MSCs to the epicenter of SCI remain unknown. Here, we demonstrated that calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), a neural peptide synthesized in ...

Background: Animal spinal cord injury (SCI) models have provided a better perception of the mechanisms related to traumatic SCI and evaluation effectiveness experimental therapeutic interventions. Objectives: The aim this study is develop cost-effective modified Allen's device induce contusive injury. Methods: Adult male Wistar rats were subjected using customized weight drop model through 10-g...

Hyperreflexia and spasticity are chronic complications in spinal cord injury (SCI), with limited options for safe and effective treatment. A central mechanism in spasticity is hyperexcitability of the spinal stretch reflex, which presents symptomatically as a velocity-dependent increase in tonic stretch reflexes and exaggerated tendon jerks. In this study we tested the hypothesis that dendritic...

UNLABELLED Male infertility as a result of spinal cord injury (SCI) is associated with abnormal semen qualities including low sperm counts and poor sperm motility and morphology. Clinical studies suggest that reactive oxygen species (ROS)-related events might contribute to abnormal sperm functions after SCI. The current study examined whether impaired sperm functions after SCI can be ameliorate...

Keratan sulfate proteoglycans (KSPGs) are extracellular matrix molecules that appear to establish boundaries for axonal growth in the developing brain and spinal cord. In vitro studies confirm that KSPGs define inhibitory boundaries to extending neurites. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether KSPGs are expressed after spinal cord injury (SCI) and thereby might act as potential...

Altered sensations, including pain, are well-documented consequences associated with spinal cord injury (SCI). Although loss of sensory and motor functions at and below the level of injury is commonly thought to affect individuals with SCI most significantly, secondary consequences that include spasticity, bladder and bowel dysfunctions, infertility, and pain rank among the most difficult condi...

Spinal cord injury (SCI) impairs descending glutamatergic neurotransmission reaching ventral motor neurons (VMN). Previously we reported up-regulation of NMDA receptor subunits NR1 and NR2A mRNAs in VMN caudal to the lesion site 24 h after SCI. The absence of effect rostral to the injury site suggested that injury-induced loss of descending activity might be involved. To test this hypothesis, w...

Excessive accumulation of intracellular calcium is the most critical step after spinal cord injury (SCI). Reducing the calcium influx should result in a better recovery from SCI. Calcium channel blockers have been shown a great potential in reducing brain and spinal cord injury. In this study, we first tested the neuroprotective effect of MVIIC on slices of spinal cord subjected to ischemia eva...