The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis is one of the largest spinal cord injury research centers in the world. The Miami Project is dedicated to advancing the knowledge needed to develop new treatments for spinal cord injury. Investigators at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis have recently designed a new triple combination strategy in experimental animals which has opened up doors to new possibilities in the search for successful treatments for spinal cord injury. The new treatment combines Schwann cell grafts with the administration of rolipram and a form of cyclic AMP, drugs that influence axon growth.

The initial treatment with rolipram was found to help prevent a decrease of cAMP in the central nervous system after injury and the later treatment with a form of cAMP increased levels to above normal. Cyclic AMP has been shown to be important for regrowth of axons across inhibitory envireonments. Barth Green, M.D., Neurosurgeon and Director of the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis is a member of the Academy Council of the American Academy of Spine Physicians.

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