Therapeutic applications for spinal cord injury

In the Central Nervous System, the cellular mechanisms of self-protection and regeneration are altered after some type of injury. Complete or even partial injury to the spinal cord causes permanent neural damage and, as a result, there is no self-recovery. The recovery due to the use of therapies is very limited because such therapies are not effective for protection and neural regeneration. In the search for a total recovery of the paraplegic or quadriplegic subject, a lot of researches have been done at the basic level and some have been taken to the clinic. Due to these researches, the mechanisms responsible for the lack of spinal regeneration have been discovered and therapeutic strategies have been designed to limit the barrier known as the glial scar of damaged spinal tissue. Such strategies include grafts of immature astrocytes, fragments of embryonic neural tissue, stem cells, among others, to increase neuronal regeneration against the inhibitory environment, and to replace damaged neuronal tissue. On the other hand, physiotherapy plays a vital role in the rehabilitation of subjects with spinal injury. However, in different animal models this type of studies has been unsuccessful, and the results are still controversial for its application in humans. Currently, pharmacological treatments in patients with spinal injury are expensive. This review article proposes that electro-acupuncture and phytotherapy could work as new spinal repair strategies. Moreover, with this type of treatment, the rehabilitation of subjects with spinal cord injury would be less expensive.