New treatment for chronic neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury

A new therapeutic strategy that requires a one-time injection into the spinal column has been developed to ease chronic neuropathic pain following spinal cord injury.

The common injury has been difficult to treat in the past, but innovative treatment has the potential to improve patient outcomes. The injection of fibronectin, which is a glycoprotein produced in the body that helps anchor cells in place, can prevent the development of chronic pain that often develops after a spinal cord injury.

The treatment inhibits mechanical allodynia as well as pain from pressure which is common in spinal chord injury patients. The authors have reported their findings in the article "Fibronectin Inhibits Chronic Pain Development after Spinal Cord Injury".

W. Dalton Dietrich III, PhD, at the University of Miami said: "These highlighted experimental studies provide new information on mechanisms underlying the development of neuropathic pain and potential therapeutic interventions to treat pain after spinal cord injury."

Posted by Ben Evans