Wheeling for a cure

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Rathbone_Jiang.jpg” caption=”Michel Rathbone and Shucui Jiang”]A McMaster-based research group that is leading efforts to find a cure for paralysis is getting a hand with its ongoing funding challenges from a group of athletes who may someday benefit from the group's work. The athletes, who use wheelchairs, will fundraise through participation in a grueling five-day, 212-kilometre marathon.

Participants of the 2006 Golden Horseshoe Marathon will travel from the Niagara region to Queens Park, with stops along the way to help raise awareness of spinal cord injuries and collect donations. The athletes, who train year-round in preparation for the marathon, hope to raise $500,000 to support the research group.

The Neurorestorative Group is a recently established collaboration that is building on the existing strengths at McMaster in the field of spinal cord regeneration, drawing on the expertise of physicians, basic scientists, surgeons, rehabilitation specialists and social scientists.

The interdisciplinary nature of the group and the breadth of knowledge represented is unique in Canada, and possibly the world, said Dr. Michel Rathbone, a professor in the Department of Medicine and a world-renowned researcher in spinal cord regeneration.

He and Shucui Jiang, the group's co-coordinator and assistant professor in the Department of Surgery, reported on the latest developments of the group's work at an event last week, where the marathon was announced.

Rathbone said that the Neurorestorative Group has initially decided to focus on chronic spinal cord injuries because of the pre-existing and substantial expertise in the field among McMaster's scientists, researchers and physicians, in areas as diverse as kinesiology, molecular medicine, chemistry, pharmacology and cell biology.
The establishment of the group has made it possible for the various disciplines to share scientific and clinical knowledge and challenges, in order to advance research and treatments aimed at restoring function for those who have been paralyzed by spinal cord injuries.

The group also uses its combined knowledge for grant applications and determining the direction of future research.

“We have the brains, the talent and the individuals here already, and have brought them together in a unique group,” said Rathbone. “For the first time, the basic scientists and the clinicians are able to sit down together and share their information in an iterative loop. The basic scientists can hear first-hand about the clinical problems, and the clinicians are made aware of the latest basic science developments.”

An example of the type of work being advanced through the group is the accidental discovery by Jiang that resulted in rats being able to walk better after being paralyzed. A method to re-grow nerve casings required for the brain and body to communicate was discovered when Jiang used a naturally-occurring compound called guanosine to regenerate a protein and fatty substance called myelin that forms an insulating layer around nerves.

This myelin sheath allows rapid transmission of signals between the body and the brain, but those messages are disrupted when the myelin is damaged. Finding ways to re-grow it is crucial to discovering how to restore and improve function in those paralysed by spinal cord injuries.