Cancer Drug Improves Movement in Rats with Spine Injury
Baku, January 31 (AZERTAC). Researchers say the anti-cancer drug Taxol, normally used to treat breast cancer, might also hold promise as a way to help people recover from crippling spinal cord injuries.
Researchers at Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Germany report that Taxol improves movement and function in rats with spine injuries, by promoting nerve regeneration. They say the drug appears to eliminate the physical obstacles that normally prevent injured nerve cells from regrowing axons.
Axons are the long slender projections that transmit nerve-cell impulses to the rest of the body, controlling movement. Recovery from spinal cord injuries is often impossible because of the formation of scar tissue, which impedes the growth of new nerves.
But in experiments with rats whose spinal cords had been partially cut, researchers saw that Taxol stimulated nerve regeneration around the scar tissue.
Lead investigator Frank Bradke likens scar tissue formation to "stop signs" that impede the regrowth of nerve fibers. "So, we saw that we could basically make axons grow over these stop signs, so that they can start to grow like a crazy driver," he said.
Bradke says Taxol promotes axonal regeneration indirectly - by helping to reduce scarring.
He says the drug also loosens microtubules, tiny protein structures that make up rigid internal cell structures or mini bones of the spine. By loosening what Bradke calls this "fishing net" of microtubules, Taxol gave the nerve filaments room to grow.
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