Neuropathic medications may assist post-spinal surgery

Research by Ohio University (USA) shows that gabapentin used to treat nerve pain can support rehabilitation of upper limb after spinal cord injury.

Recently, researchers at Ohio State University found that long-term treatment with gabapentin, a drug often prescribed for neuropathic pain, can help restore upper limb function after a spinal cord injury .

In the study, gabapentin- treated mice regained about 60% of the function of using the front limb in a skilled walking test, compared to recovering about 30% of the previous limb function in the mice. mice get other drugs.

The drug blocks the action of a protein that plays a major role in the growth of axons, the long, slender extension of nerve cells that transmit messages.

Gabapentin used to treat neuropathy may help restore upper limb or hand function in people after spinal cord injuries.(Photo: HelloBacSi).

When a person has a spinal cord injury, a protein in the body that prevents the elongation, slenderness of nerve cells, called axons, cannot regenerate. The researchers found that Gabapentin could prevent the protein from interfering with the regeneration of cells after an injury.

"What we found was surprising," said expert Andrea Tedeschi, a professor of neuroscience at Ohio State, who co-authored the study. The results of this study are interesting, and this opens up some possibilities.

The regression function in mice occurred after four months of treatment, equivalent to about nine years in adults.

This finding is significant because the drug has been clinically approved and has been prescribed for patients. The author of the study is Andrea Tedeschi, assistant professor of neuroscience. The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.