Dr. Victor Arvanian 
of the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center has made some important discoveries in the effort to improve transmission of signals in the damaged spinal cord and promote recovery of function after SCI. His work with CSPGs led him to identify NG2 as the specific CSPG blocking conduction in the chronic spinal cord injury. The Arvanian lab then began collaboration with Dr. Joel Levine, an expert in NG2 who has developed an antibody. Their experiments showed that treatment with NG2 antibody improves not only transmission in the damaged spinal cord, but it also improves anatomical plasticity. Dr. Arvanian will report on these discoveries and the next steps to be taken by his lab at the Working 2 Walk Science and Advocacy Symposium in Boston along with other great neuroscientists.
His newest publication abstract can be found HERE for the Combination of Chondroitinase ABC and AAV-NT3 promoting neural plasticity at descending spinal pathways following thoracic contusion in rats.
