Researchers develop material to treat Spinal cord injury

Chinese researchers on Thursday announced a new type of bioactive material that may help treat spinal injuries.

“Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a severe medical condition often leading to permanent loss of sensory, motor, and autonomic functions, currently with no cure,’’ Li Xiaoguang, professor of Beihang University and Capital Medical University, said.

After research lasting over 20 years, Li has developed a type of bioactive and biodegradable material, NT3-chitosan.

“In rhesus monkeys, the material elicited robust de novo neural regeneration, sensory and motor functional recovery.

“The method is likely translatable to human SCI repair,’’ Li said.

The results are published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.