A new study is showing that the same blue food color used in M&Ms, could also be used to reduce the extent of damage caused by spinal cord injuries.
According to AOL, news researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center found that the color compound Brilliant Blue G (BBG) when injected into rats suffering from spinal cord injuries, reduced the damage enough to allow the rats to walk again. The only side effects were that the rodents temporarily turned blue.
The study has been published in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" and were based on research conducted by the University of Rochester Medical Center five years ago. In 2004, it was seen that Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) rushes to the spinal cord, soon after there is a spinal cord injury. A sudden rush of ATP kills off healthy cells in the area, magnifying the impact of the injury. However, when the researchers injected oxidized ATP to the site, it worked to block the effects of the ATP, dramatically reducing the damage caused by the ATP. The injured rats were able to recover from their spinal cord fracture sooner, and began to walk again.
According to the researchers, although the results were dramatic, they could not use the same method, i.e. injecting the oxidized ATP into the site, in human beings with spinal cord injuries. For one thing, injecting into a spinal cord that has just suffered severe damage, is hugely undesirable. Another method would have to be found to deliver the oxidized ATP to the injury site and block the ATP from killing healthy cells. Besides, oxidized ATP can have dangerous side effects, and therefore, cannot be injected into the human blood stream.
The researchers then discovered a molecule called P2X7, also known as the "death receptor." The P2X7 is found heavily in the spinal cord, and it increases the significance of the spinal cord damage by allowing ATP to latch on to motor neurons and transmit the signals which kill them. The researchers knew that BBG could help inhibit the function of P2X7. BBG had been approved as a blue food dye by the Food and Drug Administration, and the researchers were encouraged to test the dye on the injured spinal cord. They injected the dye in rats with spinal cord injuries, and have been very pleased at the results. It all seems simple enough and safe too, but the researchers say it could be several years before these results can be extended to humans.
Spinal cord injuries are often seen in high-speed and other high impact accidents. These are some of the most catastrophic injuries, and leave a person with permanent impairment and immobility. The effect can be seen not just in the person's ability to walk, but also in performing everyday routine activities that involve the use of the limbs, like eating, changing clothes, breathing etc. As California spinal cord injury lawyers, we often come across patients with such debilitating injuries, and hope that these new findings can, over time, translate to a complete cure for human beings too.
Author Resource:-
The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims Please visit our website at
trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.
The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.
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