Recent Developments in Regenerative Strategies to Treat Spinal Cord Injuries

Trauma to the adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS) causes diffuse axonal injury that results in devastating long-term disabilities due to limited sprouting and axon regeneration failure. No therapeutic strategy that restores neurological function is currently available for individuals who have suffered damage to their spinal cords. The past few decades have witnessed major advances in the technology used to study CNS development, homeostasis, and disease. A better understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying axonal growth and regeneration failure has allowed the development of several regenerative strategies that may change the way we treat spinal cord injury (SCI) in the near future. This chapter summarizes recent progress in spinal cord repair and regeneration, including combinatorial strategies promoting axonal sprouting, regeneration, formation, and consolidation of neuronal circuits as well as cellular replacement after injury.