March, 2005...LISCIRC representatives meet with researchers from Stony Brook University to discuss their work in spinal cord injury.

At the State University of New York at Stony Brook, the Christofer Reeve Paralysis Foundation Consortium laboratory of Dr. Mendell (left) is using a technique called electrophysiology to evaluate the efficacy of the electrical signals that nerve cells generate after a spinal cord injury and after treatments. This technology enables scientists to actually see the nerve cell's electrical signaling. 

Dr. Mendell is teamed with  Dr. Victor Arvanian of SUNY's Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, a proponent of  electrophysiology techniques.  The functional abilities of a damaged spinal cord can be ascertained using this technique. Scientists can assess the functional benefits of spinal cord therapies intended to restore the damaged information pathways and improve control over the reflex and action centers.

Touring their facilities, two projects were observed currently underway.  One is testing the ability of new neural pathways to be generated after administering gene therapy.  Already, new electrical pathways were “discovered”…Or were these simply untapped or unnoticed pathways that had gone undected, hidden by the stronger signal emitted by normal cords?  The other will be testing the electrical signals emitted by the spinal cord after the rats are “trained” using treadmill type devices after injury.

Several ideas were discussed with Drs Mendell and Arvanian, including the possibility of LISCIRC and SUNY Stonybrook co-sponsoring a spinal cord injury symposium in 2006.  Stay tuned!