Degenerative and regenerative mechanisms governing spinal cord injury

Abstract

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a major cause of disability, and at present, there is no universally accepted treatment. The functional decline following SCI is contributed to both direct mechanical injury and secondary pathophysiological mechanisms that are induced by the initial trauma. These mechanisms initially involve widespread haemorrhage at the site of injury and necrosis of central nervous system (CNS) cellular components. At later stages of injury, the cord is observed to display reactive gliosis. The actions of astrocytes as well as numerous other cells in this response create an environment that is highly nonpermissive to axonal regrowth. Also manifesting important effects is the imm..