ABSTRACT
It is likely that a combination of therapeutic interventions will be required to overcome spinal cord injury and promote functional regeneration in higher vertebrates (including humans) and these therapies will have to address: 1) the reduction of secondary cell damage, near the spinal cord injury site, to both neurons and glia that have survived the initial neurotrauma, 2) the bridging of any resulting tissue loss (i.e. cyst cavities) or physical scarring at the injury site, and 3) the promotion of functional axonal regeneration and/or sprouting of axons across the site of injury. Active rehabilitation therapy will also be essential to provide the necessary sensorimotor activity that will enhance plasticity within surviving circuits, as well as functionally consolidate any synaptic connections formed by regenerated axons (Muir & Steeves, 1997). In this chapter, we attempt to review the role played by some of the intrinsic neuronal and extrinsic glial determinants in axonal regeneration within the vertebrate spinal cord.
