London, England-based Bolt Burdon Kemp created an interactive timeline highlighting the greatest advances in spinal injury repair in the last two decades.
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1. Spinal cord plasticity —2001
- A study published in Nature Reviews Neuroscience revealed SCI patients experienced some restored function in impacted limbs after physiotherapy.
2. Sodium channel blockers —2001
- Canadian researchers reported the drug riluzole had the potential to protect nerve cells following SCI.
3. Minocycline —2006
- Researchers discovered minocycline could protect nerves as well as stop inflammation following SCI.
4. Botulinum toxin — 2008
- An American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation-published study revealed botulinum toxin could treat spasticity and spasm following SCI.
5. Therapeutic hypothermia — 2012
- The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis researchers found therapeutic hypothermia could impact the progression of spinal cord injury if implemented right after injury.
6. Thought control —2014
- A U.S.-developed device helped a quadriplegic patient move his hand and fingers with his thoughts.
7. Nose nerve cell transplant —2014
- A paralyzed patient experienced partial voluntary movement recovery in part of his limbs after receiving transplantation of his nose nerve cells and nerve bridging.
8. Scar-busting chondroitinase — 2015
- Kings College, London researchers demonstrated chondroitinase could dissolve scar tissue in animals.
9. Stem cell treatment for cervical SCI —2016
- Asterias Biotherapeutics reported improvements in SCI patients following treatment with human embryonic stem cells growing into oligodendrocytes.
10. Fat-derived stem cells transplant —2016
- South Korean researchers implanted stem cells grown from fat tissue into SCI patients, finding improvements in motor skills.
Check out the timeline to see what is still ahead.