Treating spinal cord injury using a novel bioelectronic implant

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating condition that can result in permanent neurological impairment, and there are currently no regenerative therapies available. Our group is currently testing a thin flexible bioelectronic implant in rats, capable of monitoring electrical activity around a SCI and delivering a combination of electrical and chemical treatments to regenerate damaged pathways leading to functional recovery. During this two year research project, funded by the Neurological Foundation, we will first establish methods to consistently install the bioelectronic implant along the spinal cord and obtain neural recordings in uninjured rats. Once these methods are established, insertion of the bioelectronic implant will be combined with a moderate spinal cord contusion injury model and daily treatment using sustained electrical fields. Neural recordings from the implant will be used to compare activity in non-injured rats, non-treated SCI rats, and SCI rats treated with electrical stimulation. Importantly, by understanding normal spinal cord neural activity, we can modify our treatments of SCI in order to attempt to return to this healthy level of activity. This work will allow us to test some promising approaches to achieve axonal regeneration after SCI as well as develop our spinal implant as a potential delivery platform for future treatments. Ultimately, we aim to translate this implant for use in a clinical setting to help alleviate the high prevalence of SCI-related impairment within New Zealand. The consequences of spinal cord injury (SCI) are devastating and the associated social and economic losses, as a result of neurological impairment, are significant. Currently there are a lack of treatment options and development of a regenerative therapy could have real potential to address some of the personal and economic costs of SCI.