More than 250,000 people in the United States are living with spinal cord injuries, according to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center. A new treatment that has proven effective in mice studies is going to be tested on dogs with spinal cord injuries. If it is effective for the dachshunds, beagles and corgis that are part of the trial, similar drugs could become available for San Jose residents who have spinal cord injuries.

The dog study will begin this spring, with a $750,000 grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense. The Department of Defense is hopeful that the treatment will eventually work to treat servicemen and women as well as civilians.

Many of the dogs involved in the study were left paralyzed due to spontaneous disc ruptures that have caused bruising or tears to their spinal cords. Currently, there is no treatment available that improves functionality for the dogs.

The drug therapy is not expected to help dogs who were paralyzed years, or even weeks ago. The drug reportedly cannot re-grow pathways that have already been damaged by protein release, however, if effective this drug may give way to future advancements in spinal cord injury treatment capabilities.

The treatment aims to alleviate a spinal cord injury's collateral damage. Many spinal cord injuries set off a cascade of chemical reactions within the spinal cord, which then damage nearby cells and pathways. In dogs, this leads to decreased hind leg functions.

The drug will be tested by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, and Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. As mentioned above, if successful, similar treatments could become available for humans.

Those who suffer spinal cord injuries often pay a devastating personal price. These injuries dramatically alter lives, and an effective treatment could play a very important role in mitigating that.

Source: Chicago Sun-Times, "Treating dog's spinal cord injuries could help humans, too," Sharon L. Peters, Feb. 6, 2012