Spinal Cord Trauma Regeneration Neural Repair And Functional Recovery

Restoration of motor function following spinal cord injury is a complex and challenging task. By reviewing emerging cellular, pharmacological, rehabilitative, as well as surgical approaches, this book seeks to highlight promising therapeutic strategies for the repair and regeneration of motor circuitry. The multidisciplinary nature of these approaches illustrates various routes to bridging the gap between the bench and the bedside and to identify the challenges that must be overcome in order to bring about a viable therapeutic strategy for spinal cord injury patients.

An estimated 11,000 spinal cord injuries occur each year in the United States and more than 200,000 Americans suffer from maladies associated with spinal cord injury. This includes paralysis, bowel and bladder dysfunction, sexual dysfunction, respiratory impairment, temperature regulation problems, and chronic pain. During the last two decades, longstanding beliefs about the inability of the adult central nervous system to heal itself have been eroded by the flood of new information from research in the neurosciences and related fields. However, there are still no cures and the challenge of restoring function in the wake of spinal cord injuries remains extremely complex. Spinal Cord Injury examines the future directions for research with the goal to accelerate the development of cures for spinal cord injuries. While many of the recommendations are framed within the context of the specific needs articulated by the New York Spinal Cord Injury Research Board, the Institute of Medicine's panel of experts looked very broadly at research priorities relating to future directions for the field in general and make recommendations to strengthen and coordinate the existing infrastructure. Funders at federal and state agencies, academic organizations, pharmaceutical and device companies, and non-profit organizations will all find this book to be an essential resource as they examine their opportunities.

Despite enormous advances made in the development of external effector prosthetics over the last quarter century, significant questions remain, especially those concerning signal degradation that occurs with chronically implanted neuroelectrodes. Offering contributions from pioneering researchers in neuroprosthetics and tissue repair, Indwelling Neural Implants: Strategies for Contending with the In Vivo Environment examines many of these challenges, paying particular attention to how the healing of tissues surrounding an implant can impact the intended use of a device. The contributions are divided into four sections · Part one examines wound healing from the initial insertion trauma through the inflammatory and repair process, explaining how the action of healing varies throughout different areas of the body. · Part two considers various performance issues specific to particular implant components, including those that arise from the chemical, mechanical, thermal, and electrical impact on surrounding tissues. It discusses challenges that result from chronic tissue stimulation and heat effects that occur with on-chip and telemetric processing. · Part three presents both in vitro and in vivo approaches to assessing wound healing response to materials. It includes the contribution of the developer of a chronic hollow fiber membrane implant who explains how an in vivo model is used to assess molecular transport in brain tissue surrounding the implant. · The final section evaluates molecular and materials strategies for intervening in CNS wound repair and enhancing the electrical communication between the electrode surface and the surrounding tissue. It also presents novel approaches to nerve regeneration and repair. This seminal work provides researchers with an up-to-date account of the progress in the field that they can build upon to bring us closer to realizing the full value of neural implants in combating otherwise intractable human health problems.

Neural Regeneration provides an overview of cutting-edge knowledge on a broad spectrum of neural regeneration, including: Neural regeneration in lower vertebrates Neural regeneration in the peripheral nervous system Neural regeneration in the central nervous system Transplantation-mediated neural regeneration Clinical and translational research on neural regeneration The contributors to this book are experts in their fields and work at distinguished institutions in the United States, Canada, Australia, and China. Nervous system injuries, including peripheral nerve injuries, brain and spinal cord injuries, and stroke affect millions of people worldwide every year. As a result of this high incidence of neurological injuries, neural regeneration and repair is becoming a rapidly growing field dedicated to the new discoveries to promote structural and functional recoveries based on neural regeneration. The ultimate goal is to translate the most optimal regenerative strategies to treatments of human nervous system injuries. This valuable reference book is useful for students, postdoctors, and basic and clinical scientists who are interested in neural regeneration research. Provides an overview of cutting-edge knowledge on a broad spectrum of neural regeneration Highly translational and clinically-relevance International authors who are leaders in their respective fields Vivid art work making the chapters easily understood

Volume 1 of the Textbook of Neural Repair and Rehabilitation covers the basic sciences relevant to recovery of function following injury to the nervous system.

Handbook of Clinical Neurology: Spinal Cord Injury summarizes advances in the clinical diagnosis, monitoring, prognostication, treatment, and management of spinal cord injuries. More specifically, it looks at new and important developments in areas such as high-resolution noninvasive neuroimaging, surgery, and electrical stimulation of motor, respiratory, bladder, bowel, and sexual functions. It also reviews the latest insights into spontaneous regeneration and recovery of function following rehabilitation, with emphasis on novel therapeutic strategies, such as gene therapy, transcranial stimulation, brain-machine interfaces, pharmacological approaches, molecular target discovery, and the use of olfactory ensheathing cells, stem cells, and precursor cells. Organized in five sections, the book begins with an overview of the development, maturation, biomechanics, and anatomy of the spinal cord before proceeding with a discussion of clinical diagnosis and prognosis as well as natural recovery, ambulation, and function following spinal cord injury. It then examines clinical neurophysiology in the prognosis and monitoring of traumatic spinal cord injury; medical, surgical and rehabilitative management of spinal cord trauma; and some new approaches for improving recovery in patients, including restoration of function by electrical stimulation, locomotor training, and the use of robotics. Other chapters cover cell transplantation, artificial scaffolds, experimental pharmacological interventions, and molecular and combinatorial strategies for repairing the injured spinal cord. This volume should be of interest to neuroscience and clinical neurology research specialists and practicing neurologists. Comprehensive coverage of the latest scientific understanding of spinal cord injuries Detailed coverage of current treatment best practices and potential future treatments Connects leading edge research programs to future treatment opportunities