Immunomodulatory and neuroprotective approaches including human mesenchymal precursor cell transplantation for spinal cord injury repair

Spinal cord injury (SCI) often results in significant and long lasting functional impairments. Despite extensive research, there are currently no therapies that can effectively repair the damaged spinal cord. This thesis investigated novel neuroprotective strategies to prevent secondary tissue loss following injury, in combination with human mesenchymal precursor cell transplantation (hMPC). While there were no significant functional improvements with any therapy, there were significant morphological improvements with immune cell depletion and anti-inflammatory treatment, which was sometimes improved with hMPC transplantation. These results support the idea that combinatorial approaches may be more beneficial for SCI repair than individual therapies.