A herbal-based supplement used in treating symptoms in stroke and brain injury survivors is showing promise in improving recovery after severe spinal cord injury (SCI), a new study has shown.
Research has shown that a six-month course of NeuroAiD – a nine-component natural herbal product – can augment functional and motor recovery after SCI.
The SATURN study, from NeuroAiD creators Moleac, revealed that a third of patients saw improvements on the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale (AIS), with corresponding motor recovery at month six.
Thirty-three per cent of patients improved their AIS score at month six from baseline, and the ASIA total motor score improved over time from 17.1 at baseline to 49.9 at month six.
NeuroAiD, which has well-established neuroprotective and neurorepair properties that enhance neurological recovery in stroke and traumatic brain injury patients, could now represent a new therapeutic approach for SCI patients.
The breakthrough marks the latest in a series of significant positive steps in SCI, giving hope to paralysed patients about the potential for their future mobility and function.
The SATURN – Spinal cord injury Assessing Tolerability and Use of combined Rehabilitation and NeuroAiD – study included 30 people with ASIA AIS grades A and B, who received a six-month course of NeuroAiD on top of standard care and rehabilitation.
Biopharmaceutical company Moleac said the key outcomes were the safety profile by measuring the occurrence of adverse events (AEs) during the six-month course of NeuroAiD, and the improvements in the AIS grade and motor score at month six.
“Any improvement in AIS grading is clinically important for SCI patients,” said Professor Ramesh Kumar, neurosurgeon at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur.
“The rates of improvement we saw at six months in our study with NeuroAiD in this severe SCI sample with excellent safety, are very encouraging to use and to develop it as a complementary therapeutic option.”
