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Spinal Cord Injury: A Review of Current Therapy, Future Treatments, and Basic Science Frontiers

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Abstract

The incidence of acute and chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) in the United States is more than 10,000 per year, resulting in 720 cases per million persons enduring permanent disability each year. The economic impact of SCI is estimated to be more than 4 billion dollars annually. Preclinical studies, case reports, and small clinical trials suggest that early treatment may improve neurological recovery. To date, no proven therapeutic modality exists that has demonstrated a positive effect on neurological outcome. Emerging data from recent preclinical and clinical studies offer hope for this devastating condition. This review gives an overview of current basic research and clinical studies for the treatment of SCI.

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Acknowledgments

Completion of this project was made possible by funding from the National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NS-31622, NS-38146, and NS-41088), the South Carolina Spinal Cord Injury Research Fund (SCSCIRF), and Department of Neurosciences (Neurosurgery). Authors thank Casey Holmes for help with the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA

    Abhay K. Varma, Arabinda Das, Gerald Wallace IV & Naren L. Banik

  2. Bioengineering, Clemson University, 401 Rhodes Hall, Clemson, SC, USA

    John Barry & Alexey A. Vertegel

  3. Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, 29209, USA

    Swapan K. Ray

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  1. Abhay K. Varma
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  2. Arabinda Das
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  3. Gerald Wallace IV
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  4. John Barry
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  7. Naren L. Banik
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Correspondence to Abhay K. Varma.

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Varma, A.K., Das, A., Wallace, G. et al. Spinal Cord Injury: A Review of Current Therapy, Future Treatments, and Basic Science Frontiers. Neurochem Res 38, 895–905 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-013-0991-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-013-0991-6

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