2004 Directors' Summary Synopsis

VISITING SCIENTISTS CONDUCT COLLABORATIVE STUDIES

The Miami Project’s scientific team welcomed David Gurwitz, Ph.D. and Lynne Weaver, D.V.M., Ph.D. as the first of five Visiting Scholars supported by the NINDS’ Facilities of Research Excellence in Spinal Cord Injury (FORE-SCI) contract.

Dr. Gurwitz, from the Department of Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel spent four months at The Miami Project conducting a study to evaluate the neuroprotective potential of currently approved drugs in experimental models of SCI.

"There are thousands of drugs already approved and used safely in humans. Some of these drugs may actually be of benefit in diseases other than what they were approved for. I am particularly interested in several drugs that may prevent secondary neural damage or ‘bystander damage’ caused by specific immune system cells in the spinal cord after injury, " says Gurwitz. "I’m honored to have had this opportunity to utilize The Miami Project’s outstanding facility, its resources and the expertise of their research team to efficiently carry out this study."

Also visiting The Miami Project to conduct collaborative research was Dr. Lynne Weaver, director of The Laboratory of Spinal Cord Injury at Robarts Research Institute in London, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Weaver has been involved with spinal cord injury research for many years. While at The Miami Project, she continued a study initiated at her home institution. Dr. Weaver’s laboratory has been evaluating the benefits of an antibody to control inflammatory cells in a rat model of spinal cord injury. The antibody limits the activity of Cd11d, a protein found on inflammatory cells. With the proposed treatment, fewer immune system cells were found in the injured cord, there was less spinal cord damage and the animals showed improvements in motor, sensory and autonomic function.

To determine whether this antibody treatment could be of benefit in humans, Dr. Weaver wanted to know if the same kind of inflammation seen in the animal experiments is seen in humans. Therefore, she initiated a study to analyze the postmortem spinal cord tissue of patients who died within 10 days of their injury. At her institution, she was able to study the tissue of a few patients, but she was in need of more spinal cord tissue. The Miami Project has access to a fairly large collection of human postmortem tissue and a dozen or more specimens were of interest to Dr. Weaver.

"In my thirty years of research, I have undertaken several collaborative research projects in other laboratories but I have never had such a positive experience as we have enjoyed at The Miami Project. The generosity in sharing the precious spinal cord tissue has been remarkable. The scientists and staff at The Project have been extremely dedicated to helping us make our work successful."