Therapeutic Potential of NEU2000, A Dual Acting Pharmacological Agent in the Treatment of Acute Spinal Cord Injury

Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) results in a loss of voluntary motor and sensory function below the site of injury and affects some 300,000 individuals in the United States with approximately 10,000 new cases each year. Pathological secondary responses following the initial insult promote additional and extensive damage occurring hours to weeks following injury and. therefore, are amenable to therapeutic interventions. At the present time, there are no effective therapies for the treatment of acute SCI and alternative strategies are warranted. Of particular note is the fact that secondary injury following SCI is a highly complex. Therefore, therapeutic strategies targeting multiple secondary injury processes may prove beneficial. The studies proposed in this application are designed to test the overall hypothesis that treatment with NEU2000, a recently developed compound that exhibits dual actions by inhibiting oxidative damage and glutamate­ mediated excitotoxicity, will have clear clinical implications as an effective treatment of acute SCI in humans.This will be accomplished by addressing the following Specific Aims: Aim l: Test the hypothesis that NEU2000 treatment reduces measures of oxidative damage in an experimental model of acute SCI. Aim 2 : Test the hypothesis that treatment with NEU2000 at a dose that reduces oxidative damage also improves mitochondrial function following acute SCI. Aim 3 : Test the hypothesis that postinjury NEU2000 treatment improves tissue sparing and promotes ti.mctional recovery.