title: Strategies to restore motor functions after spinal cord injury.
abstract: This review presents recent advances in the development of strategies to restore posture and locomotion after spinal cord injury (SCI). A set of strategies focusing on the lesion site includes prevention of secondary damages, promotion of axonal sprouting/regeneration, and replacement of lost cells. Other strategies focus on spinal central pattern generators (CPGs). Training promotes functional recovery by enhancing the plasticity of CPGs and these sublesional networks can be reactivated by means of pharmacological or electrical stimulation. It is now clear that substantial functional recovery will require a combination of strategies adapted to each phase following SCI. Finally, improvements in the understanding of the mechanisms underlying spasticity may lead to new treatments of this disabling complication affecting patients with SCI.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Plasticité et Physio-Pathologie de Motricité (UMR6196), Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) & Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, 31 chemin Joseph Aiguier, F-13402 Marseille cx 20, France.
authors.forename: Pascale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boulenguez
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vinay
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017690:Cell Transplantation / Q000502:physiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000502:physiology; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D020127:Recovery of Function / Q000502:physiology*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D018696:Neuroprotective Agents