Functional and Biological Predictors of Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy Spinal Cord Injury

Grants and Contracts Details

Description

Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy (DCM) is the number one cause of non- traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) worldwide [1]. DCM encompasses several conditions that result in compression of the spinal cord at the cervical level [2]. While surgery improves outcomes for most patients, about 30 percent see no improvement or worsened symptoms after treatment [3, 4]. Currently, there are no accessible tools to enhance prognostics and develop better treatments for this highly prevalent condition. Clinical success with neuronal biomarkers such as GFAP, to indicate concussion severity [5, 6], supports the application of blood biomarkers for neurological conditions. Here, we will utilize blood samples and MRI images being collected in a current clinical research program (NCT05446259, IRB#73840 run by Neurosurgeon Dr. Francis Farhadi, M.D./Ph.D. (see letter of rec)) to establish biomarkers for DCM. Further we will develop a rat model of DCM and subsequent decompression surgery to facilitate translational DCM research. Specifically, we will utilize an established screw-based model of DCM that recapitulates the human condition, is gradable in severity, and is MRI-compatible to align with human diagnostics [7-9]. We will then back translate, from bedside to bench, decompression surgery in the rat. We hypothesize that functional recovery after decompression surgery in rats will mimic human recovery and that the newly developed model will facilitate translation and biomarker discovery for bench to bedside application.
StatusActive
Effective start/end date2/1/251/31/28

Funding

  • KY Spinal Cord and Head Injury Research Trust: $99,417.00

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