Purdue News

December 16, 1987 Promising Spinal-Cord Injury Treatment to be Tested on Dogs West Lafayette, Ind. – Results from a Purdue University research team's pioneering experiments in regenerative electrical stimulation of spinal-cord injuries are ready to be tested on dogs. "To our knowledge, using paralyzed dogs to clinically test such laboratory findings is a first," says Richard B. Borgens, associate professor of developmental anatomy in the Purdue School of Veterinary Medicine and director of the school's Center for Paralysis Research. Since canine and human spinal cords are similar, Borgens says, results from the tests on dogs could be important to one day finding a cure for human paraplegia when caused by spinal-cord injuries. Borgens' earlier experimental work at Purdue, with colleague Andrew R. Blight, showed that damaged spinal-cord nerves can regenerate and bridge severed portions of guinea pigs' spines when influenced by a weak electrical field. Their more recent tests showed some functional recovery in about 25 percent of guinea pigs fitted with electric spinal-cord stimulators. Borgens and his associates are now searching for dogs suffering from disc herniations, a progressive loss of lubricating fluid in an intervertebral disc which can lead to a disc rupture, causing spinalcord damage and total or partial paralysis. Some breeds, such as dachshunds, are particularly susceptible to disc herniations, Borgens says. The researchers will limit tests to dogs with naturally occurring injuries rather than those with injuries from accidents because, says Borgens, it will be easier to observe any signs of progress during the test period. Those signs might include a return of sensation or movement, or of some bladder or bowel control, he says. "Since this has never been done before," says Borgens, "we won't be surprised if results are significant or if they are minor." Each dog chosen for the study will be fitted with either an active or inactive electrical stimulator. After 10 days at the center, each animal will be returned to its owner for the remainder of the six-month test period. owners will be asked to follow Purdue veterinarians' directions carefully during the recuperation period. Neither surgeons nor owners will know which animals are in the "active" group or the "control" group. Thus, Borgens says, any major change in the recovery process among animals in the active group can be evaluated, without bias, by the investigators and clinicians. "If we find that the dogs with the active stimulators benefited in some way, we intend to give the control group active devices as well," says Borgens. Borgens says he hopes to start with a group of 60 dogs with both recent and long-time paralysis due to disc herniations. He notes that many such animals are currently put to sleep because of a lack of effective treatment. All dogs chosen, he says, will be examined and treated using the best conventional methods by veterinary surgeons in the School of Veterinary Medicine. The center will underwrite the entire cost of the medical treatment. Borgens says the dogs will not be exposed to any risks, and only minor surgery will be required to implant the miniature electronic unit and batteries under the dog's skin near the spinal-cord injury. Borgens says the potential benefits for the owner of a dog chosen for the test may be an animal that can lead a more normal life and require less care than would be expected otherwise. He says participation will also be of great service to mankind since test results will be shared with the Spinal Cord Center at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine, with the hope that human treatment could eventually benefit from the canine results. The Purdue center is now receiving referrals from veterinarians, as well as the names of customers from a Berwyn, Pa., manufacturer of canine mobility carts, which are designed for paralyzed dogs. Referring to the Pennsylvania business, the K-9 Carts Co., Borgens says, "We welcome their assistance. It's wonderful they are dog lovers first and are interested in providing a possible solution for animals that are paralyzed." Barbara S. Parkes, associate director of K-9 Carts, says, "I feel owners of such dogs should be qiven a choice, since very often surgery is too late or unsuccessful. We're more than happy to help with such a project." Persons who own dogs suffering from paralysis due to disc herniations and who are interested in the Purdue research should get in touch with the Center for Paralysis Research, School of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. 47907. The telephone number is 317-494-8587. Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page