Improving treatment outcomes for individuals with acute spinal cord injury

A special focus issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Neurotrauma highlights the latest findings of the North American Clinical Trials Network (NACTN), aimed at improving outcomes for individuals with acute spinal cord injury (SCI).

Led by Guest Editor Michael Fehlings, MD, PhD, from Toronto Western Hospital, the focus issue includes an article on the history and accomplishments of the NACTN, which is a consortium of translational clinical research centers with the overarching aim to translate scientific discoveries in the realm of SCI neuroprotection and neuroregeneration while advancing knowledge on the natural history, outcomes, and optimal clinical management of SCI.

One article reports the results of the phase 3 prospective randomized controlled Riluzole in Acute Spinal cord Injury (RISCIS) trial, and a substudy (RISCIS-PK) examining the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of riluzole after acute SCI

Other studies presented in the focus issue include "Variability in Early Surgery for Acute Cervical Spinal Cord Injury Patients: An Opportunity for Enhanced Care Delivery"; "Demographics, Mechanism of Injury, and Outcomes for Acute Upper and Lower Cervical Spinal Cord Injuries: An Analysis of 470 Patients in the Prospective, Multi-Center, North American Clinical Trials Network (NACTN) Registry"; and "Trends in the Use of Corticosteroids in the Management of Acute Spinal Cord Injury in North American Clinical Trials Network Sites."

"This important focus issue will update our readership on the latest findings resulting from approximately 20 years of research generated by NACTN and clinical research centers dedicated to improving function in our SCI population. The series of manuscripts provide important evidence for the benefits of early surgery in acute SCI, key results from the multicenter Riluzole study, demographics and mechanisms of SCI and outcomes, as well as current trends in the use of corticosteroids. The results of an important RISCIS substudy on the pharmacokinetics of Riluzole treatment provide important lessons that will benefit the future development and translation of new drug treatments for CNS injuries," says W. Dalton Dietrich III, PhD, Scientific Director of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and Deputy Editor of Journal of Neurotrauma.