A study published in Journal of Neurotrauma investigates the efficacy of a new drug treatment for bladder control following spinal cord injury, according to Medical Xpress.
College Station-based Texas A&M University and University of California, San Francisco researchers tested the drug treatment, MMP inhibitor GM6001, in dogs who had suffered SCI.
SCI often causes decreased bladder compliance, where the bladder wall doesn't stretch normally. This abnormality can cause urinary tract infections, pyelonephritis and ureteral reflux.
Here are four takeaways:
1. The treatment is designed to stop the bladder wall from remodeling.
2. Researchers gave dogs the drug treatment within 48 hours of their SCIs.
3. After the dogs received GM6001, they experienced significantly higher bladder compliance.
4. An opportunity exists to use the drug treatment in the clinical SCI population.