Recovery of mice raises hopes drug could help people with spinal injuries

The treatment for people with lung disease could soon be tested on humans, after it was shown in mice that it worked for people with spine injuries.

There are 2,500 new spinal cord injuries in the UK every year, with some of those affected experiencing full loss of movement as a result. There are promising areas of research, but the damage to the spine is not going to be fixed.

The drug AZD1236, originally developed to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in humans, has shown promise in mice with spine compression injuries, a type of injury associated with motor accidents in humans, but which is also linked to conditions such as osteoarthritis. Similar benefits were shown in rats by a drug called AZD3342.

The drugs were suggested to block the action of the MMP-9 and MMP-12 that rise after a spine injury. The result was that swelling of the spine was reduced, levels of inflammation and pain were lowered, and the blood-spinal cord barrier was limited. The scarring of tissue was reduced.

The team said that injured mice that were given the drug for three days showed 85% improvement in their movement and sensation six weeks after the injury. The benefits were the same if the drug was given immediately after the injury.

We are trying to reduce the damage to the nerve tissues. That way, we're preserving more and more of the cells.

AZD1236 could enter human trials sooner because it had been shown to be safe in humans.

If everything goes well, five to six years could be a potential treatment.

Although she cautioned that the results were limited to rodents and it was not yet clear if the same benefits would be seen in humans, Dr. Mariel Purcell welcomed the findings, although she cautioned that the results were limited to rodents and it was not yet clear if the same benefits would be seen

She said thatSpinal cord injury is a devastating life-changing injury with unfortunately little that can be done to limit the primary consequences of injury, such as paralysis and sensory impairment. It's wonderful to see the results.