Posted on 06/21/2023 3:57:03 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Scientists investigating potential drugs to improve recovery from spinal cord injury have uncovered a promising route to new treatments.
Researchers tested more than 1,000 potential drugs and identified that an existing one—cimetidine—improved spinal repair in zebrafish.
The drug also helped improve recovery of movement and reduce the extent of spinal cord damage when tested in spinal-injured mice.
The findings shed new light on the biological pathways involved in recovery from spinal cord injury, experts say.
Sudden impacts on the spinal cord—for example, those caused by a car accident—can lead to life-long injuries.
Healing can be inefficient due to inflammation caused by an overreaction of the body's immune system, which normally protects against infections.
Drugs that reduce inflammation by suppressing the whole immune response also inhibit the immune cells which promote repair.
The University of Edinburgh-led study tested multiple drugs in zebrafish larvae for their ability to prevent excessive inflammation during an immune response.
Scientists discovered that cimetidine acts by helping to regulate levels of histamine—a chemical released by the immune system which is involved in inflammatory reactions—in the body.
The findings have enabled the team to pinpoint a specific signaling pathway that moderates the immune response after spinal injury to support repair.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Thanks.
BKMK
I thought they took tagamet off the market years ago.
Did these zebra fish larvae have an unstable immune response with elevated iGG4? May make a difference.
It’s available as a prescription.
I checked it on GoodRX.com.
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