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Spinal cord injury may be treated by cancer drug after lab tests on mice

Due to our on-going work with individuals who have suffered the devastating effect of a spinal cord injury and charities such as the Spinal Injuries Association (SIA), I was very interested to read the recent BBC article commenting on a new study looking at the effect of cancer drugs on mice with partially severed spinal cords.

The research conducted by Imperial College London showed that 75% of mice who had a partially severed spinal cord went from being paralysed to being able to walk on a ladder following treatment with cancer drugs called nutlins. It would seem that the effect of the drugs was to stop a particular series of proteins from interacting which would normally restrict nerve growth, this appears to have resulted in nerve regeneration within the spinal cord.

The next step for the research is to study the effects of the drugs on rats, whose spinal cords more closely resemble those of humans, but it is thought that such drugs could reach testing in human patients within 10 years.

This is a very exciting study and here at PotterReesDolan we will be watching the results closely as to date there are no effective treatments available for spinal cord injuries.

The work we do with the SIA and our individual clients who have suffered spinal cord injuries has given me first-hand knowledge of the difficulties and every-day challenges posed to spinal cord injured people.

The prospect of an effective treatment which may encourage nerve regeneration within the spinal cord itself and potential lead to recovery of movement is therefore very exciting but raises the issue of availability of such treatment.

Here in the UK, we are fortunate to have a number of centres dedicated to the treatment and rehabilitation of those who have suffered spinal cord injuries, however such centres of excellence are few and far between.

The needs of a spinal injured patient are therefore not always able to be fully addressed by their local NHS provision and with the NHS being stretched it is probable that funding for such new and experimental treatments for spinal cord injuries may not be through the NHS.

At PotterReesDolan we are therefore continually looking at current developments and always try and ensure that our client’s achieve a settlement of compensation with a contingency to enable them to privately fund new treatments in the future.

These contingencies are particularly important given the changing face of medicine, treatment and understanding in the field of spinal cord injury.

Should you, a friend or relative have suffered a spinal injury please do not hesitate to contact one of our spinal injury specialists to discuss if there may be a way for PotterReesDolan to help you.

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