Drug could stop spinal injuries worsening

Researchers in the United States have now released information to suggest that the extent of damage caused by way of trauma to the spinal cord in an accident could be restricted if the drug is administered early enough after the trauma is sustained.
Results from research recently carried out in the USA show that it may be possible to stop the bleeding that can cause the damage from an injured spinal cord to worsen. It has so far been found that when trauma occurs to the spinal cord, capillaries can burst, shedding chemicals called inflammatory factors which are designed to heal the body, but in certain circumstances can cause the situation to be worse, thus causing further damage.
The gene which apparently starts the process is called ABCC8, and US scientists have been working on a technique to block this gene. Blocking it lessens the spinal cord injury and its effects.