View Full Version : Baclofen as a detriment?
Gr8 Dane
03-19-2002, 03:38 PM
Someone posted a reference here saying she had heard that a research study suggests that anti-spasm drugs (such as Baclofen) can halt nerve regeneration. Any knowledge to back this up spinal nurses or Dr. Young?
SCI-Nurse
03-19-2002, 09:22 PM
Gr8Dane - what you have read has been discussed; sorry that I have not found a reference at this point. Will continue to do some searching.CRF
Wise Young
03-19-2002, 11:08 PM
I agree with CRF. I have been searching for such a reference in the literature for the last year and half since somebody mentioned it in Cando but have found no credible evidence of this at all. Wise.
handibob
03-20-2002, 09:44 AM
I read it about 2 yrs ago. Christoper Reeves was being interviewed and said that it was what he had heard from some researcher. The magazine is no longer in publication, they're supposed to have an on-line version but I have yet to find it. Bob
James Kelly
04-11-2002, 09:00 PM
This is one of the two papers in question. Essentially they say the same thing. Maybe the fact that these results were dependent on the type of serum employed (and were in embryonic mice) they wouldn't be relevant for us). Let's hope so.
Bird M; Owen A; Neurite outgrowth-regulating properties of GABA and the effect of serum on mouse spinal cord neurons in culture.
J Anat 1998 Nov;193( Pt 4):503-8: Time-lapse photography was used to examine the effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on the outgrowth and motility of neurites in cultures from mouse spinal cord. GABA at concentrations of 100, 10 and 1 microM caused significant inhibition of neurite outgrowth and the motility of growth cones was significantly reduced by treatment with 100 and 10 microM GABA. This effect was mimicked by the GABA(B) receptor agonist baclofen, whereas the GABA(A) receptor agonist muscimol had no effect. The effect of GABA on outgrowth and motility seems to be dependent on the type of serum employed. The results reported here were obtained only when heat-inactivated serum was used and not when non heat-inactivated serum was added to the culture medium. They suggest that GABA has a role in the regulation of process outgrowth within the embryonic mouse spinal cord.
James Kelly