AUTHOR=Hassan Omar Imad , Takamiya Soichiro , Asgarihafshejani Azam , Fehlings Michael G. 

TITLE=Bridging the gap: a translational perspective in spinal cord injury

JOURNAL=Experimental Biology and Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 249 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.ebm-journal.org/journals/experimental-biology-and-medicine/articles/10.3389/ebm.2024.10266

DOI=10.3389/ebm.2024.10266

ISSN=1535-3699

ABSTRACT=Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) remains a debilitating condition, but over the past century rapid growth has been made to uncover its pathophysiology and translate preclinical research to patient care. This paper provides an overview of SCI pathophysiology, epidemiology, currently employed management strategies, and emerging therapeutic approaches. It also highlights the quality of life (QoL) challenges faced by patients as well as their desires, providing a basis for caretakers to tailor more patient-centric forms of care. This review particularly underscores the heterogeneous nature of SCI both in disease presentation and individual patient needs, having profound effects on treatment effectiveness.By delving into the wide range of strategies to manage SCI, both established in the clinic and emerging approaches, this paper examines their therapeutic potential and limitations.Furthermore, this paper discusses the frequently encountered barriers in translation from preclinical models to clinical settings. Although the need remains urgent for novel and effective SCI treatments, there is great hope with the continued progress in the field aimed at enhancing QoL and functional outcomes for patients.