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Public release date: 02 March 2010
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Multidisciplinary approach for treating patients with spinal cord injuries
Although traditionally associated primarily with young male adults, today the average age of
spinal cord injuries (SCI) patients has risen to 40.2
years. Statistics show that each year, approximately 12,000 men and women sustain and survive spinal cord injuries,
and about 259,000 Americans currently live with a long-lasting SCI. The most common cause of SCI are automobile crashes,
and male population is most often affected, comprising almost 81 percent of all SCI patients.
According to a review article published in the April 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic
Surgeons (JAAOS), any eventual treatment for
spinal cord injury is more likely to involve a multidisciplinary
approach, drawing from expertise in several fields.
According to Ranjan Gupta, MD, chair of the department of orthopaedic surgery and professor of orthopaedic surgery,
anatomy and neurobiology, and biomedical engineering at the University of California, spinal cord injuries are especially
difficult to treat because they involve more than a direct injury to the spine. Beside direct injuries, secondary
injuries may occur as a result of how the body responds to the primary injury, usually by producing scar tissue that
can make treatment problematic. By consequence, the area of these secondary injuries are many promising areas of
research, from optimizing the acute management of the patient to pharmacologic interventions to cellular transplantation,
and many trials continue to explore new approaches to the management of SCI, including multidiscplinary approaches
that rely on several specialties to shape a successful treatment.
It is extremely unlikely that SCI will respond to one single intervention, or that there will be a 'magic bullet.
Patients with
spinal cord injury face possible significant neurologic problems, resulting in paralysis and other
disabilities. Innovative treatment strategies such as stem cell transplantation have enjoyed renewed interest under
the current administration. Currently, the FDA has been more receptive to cellular transplantation trials, with one
of the first trials being actively planned in the next two years. Rather,
spinal cord injuries treatment will undoubtedly
require a multidisciplinary approach and management.
Source:
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
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