Inhibition of cysteine proteases in acute and chronic spinal cord injury.

ABSTRACT: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a serious neurological disorder that debilitates mostly young people. Unfortunately, we still do not have suitable therapeutic agents for treatment of SCI and prevention of its devastating consequences. However, we have gained a good understanding of pathological mechanisms that cause neurodegeneration leading to paralysis or even death following SCI. Primary injury to the spinal cord initiates the secondary injury process that includes various deleterious factors for ultimate activation of different cysteine proteases for degradation of cellular key cytoskeleton and other crucial proteins for delayed death of neurons and glial cells at the site of SCI and its penumbra in different animal models. An important aspect of SCI is the increase in intracellular free C

SUBMITTER: Ray SK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3101838 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature