Groundbreaking Brazilian Drug, Capable of Reversing Spinal Cord Injury

Summary

From a tender wrapper of human life, the placenta, comes the extraction of a protein that points to a solution for something that, until now, science had no clear path to—and never one so celebrated: restoring the spinal cord in people who suffered injuries and lost body movement.Brazilian researcher Tatiana Coelho de Sampaio, PhD professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, has quietly worked with a team of biologists for the past 25 years on the repairing and multiplying power of the protein laminin, which acts on the nervous system. The studies ultimately produced the current drug polylaminin, a world first, presented on Tuesday (9) by Cristália laboratory as capable of regenerating the spinal cord in people who suffered organ rupture in accidents of various kinds, leading to paraplegia—paralysis of the lower limbs—or quadriplegia—paralysis of both lower and upper limbs. During the experimental phase of the antidote, which is applied directly to the spine, patients experienced full recovery of their conditions, with no aftereffects and resuming a routine without restrictions. Read the article in the original language News from Brazil Receive in your email inbox a summary of the day