Therapeutic interventions following mammalian spinal cord injury

Every year in the United States spinal cord injuries (SCIs) occur in approximately 12000 individuals, resulting in chronic, debilitating functional deficits in most of these patients. Owing to the extremely high costs associated with hospitalization, subsequent rehabilitation, and outpatient care, it is becoming evident that effective treatments for SCI could drastically reduce health care costs and, more importantly, improve the quality of life for thousands of individuals. In this review, we will briefly discuss the pathological events that contribute to the poor regenerative capacity of the injured spinal cord and describe experimental methods that are being used to both minimize tissue damage and promote the regrowth of injured spinal cord axons.