¦ September 17, 2010
EXCITING NEW STUDY ON TREATMENT OF CHRONIC PAIN AFTER SCI
Grant provided to Dr. Edgar Walters, University of Texas at Houston

  The Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation is committed to curing paralysis.  The Foundation recently provided a grant to assist a research project being undertaken by Dr. Edgar Walters, Professor of Integrative Biology and Pharmacology, University of Texas Medical School at Houston.  Dr. Walters’ project involves adaptive responses of neurons to injury and stress. 

Background

Unfortunately, agonizing SCI pain is often untreatable.  Previous research on basic mechanisms of SCI pain has focused on alterations in surviving spinal neurons that lie in pain pathways, often examining effects of local inflammation and death of other neurons on responses of these central neurons. 

Until this study, little attention had been paid to the peripheral sensory neurons called “nociceptors” that sense injurious events in the body and excite spinal pain neurons.  Normally silent until awakened by the peripheral injury, the spontaneous activity of the nociceptors results in sensitivity of central pain pathways, leading to chronic pain.

The Project

Dr. Walters hypothesized that persistent spontaneous activity of nociceptors after SCI should increase the activity and sensitivity of central pain pathways, just as it does after peripheral injury. In focusing on the role of nociceptors after a spinal cord injury, Dr. Walters and his team are exploring a novel approach to treating SCI pain.

Said Dr. Walters, “Data collected so far has provided strong evidence to support the hypothesis.  These finding represent the first evidence for an unexpected and potentially important source of chronic pain in patients living with SCI.  A major paper describing our results was just accepted by the Journal of Neuroscience.”

We are excited to be playing a part in Dr. Walters’ groundbreaking research, and will continue to follow this promising development in the treatment of chronic pain after SCI.