Spinal Cord Injury Analysis

SCI is an unexpected and devastating disease, which is caused by direct mechanical damage to the spinal cord and usually leads to motor and sensory dysfunction subject to the condition of injury. SCI is one of the major causes of death and disability in clinical situations. SCI brings enormous psychological and economic burdens to individual family as well as the whole society as a whole. (1,2,3,4,5) In the United States there are approximately 282,000 people suffering from SCI and an average growth of 17,000 cases annually. (6) Spinal cord injury includes primary physical injury in addition to secondary injury. The pathogenesis of SCI after the primary trauma plays an important role in an initial tissue disruption, and then following that, the initiation of secondary cellular processes beyond the injury site can lead to long-term spinal deficits and disabilities. (7) The mechanisms involved in the cell death during SCI are complex, encompassing inflammation together with excitotoxic neurological damage. Inflammation is one of the important
Although it cannot replace regular surgical procedures, as a complementary and alternative treatment, intervention of TCM plays a consequential role in preoperative prevention in addition to postoperative recovery. Curcumin [1,7-bis (4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1,6-heptadiene-3, 5-dione] is a natural polyphenolic compound. Recent studies indicate that it has a potential antioxidant (18), anti-inflammatory (19), neuroprotection (20) and anti-apoptosis effects (21). In recent years, curcumin has emerged as a promising therapeutic drug in SCI treatment that reduced the formation of the glial scar and suppressed the expression of GFAP, which in turn contributed to a more favorable environment for recovery (22). However, the treatment choice for SCI using either curcumin or MP has not been fully