Project 467223

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a traumatic event affecting 1.3 million North Americans and is associated with severe physical, psychological, social, and economic burdens on patients and their families. Secondary damage involves ischemia, hypoxia, vascular damage, ionic imbalance, neurotransmitter accumulation, free radical formation, calcium influx, lipid peroxidation, inflammation, edema, and necrotic cell death. This secondary damage after the initial trauma has been shown to underlie approximately half of the final injury severity. There are no current therapies that can be easily employed in the acute phase of SCI which can improve long-term outcomes. Research shows that manipulating arterial blood gases alleviates hypoxia by improving blood flow in pericytes and can aid in neurorecovery. This project will focus on manipulating arterial carbon dioxide tension in the acute phase of SCI to stabilize blood flow through the SCI penumbra. Stabilizing penumbra blood flow during the acute phase of SCI can reduce the severity of the final injury and show long-term improvement in sensory, motor, and autonomic function. Creation of a closed-loop system to stabilize blood flow at the site of injury to pre-injury levels has the potential to be an early intervention therapy for people in the acute phase of SCI.