New Spinal Injury Treatment... Hey, Dachshund Owners, You NEED To Read This!

A technique that helps heal spinal injuries in dogs may lead the way to future methods of preventing paralysis in humans who've suffered spinal damage.

Purdue University researchers found that injection of a liquid polymer called polyethylene glycol (PEG) within 72 hours of spinal injury prevented serious spinal cord damage in the majority of 19 dogs that received the injection.

"Nearly 75 percent of the dogs we treated with PEG were able to resume a normal life. Some healed so well that they could go on as if nothing happened," researcher Richard Borgens, director of the Center for Paralysis Research at Purdue's School of Veterinary Medicine, said in a prepared statement.

"In most dogs, we found a PEG injection within 36 hours can restore sensitivity and even mobility within three weeks. These results are unprecedented in paralysis research," Borgens said.

The findings appear in the December issue of the Journal of Neurotrauma.

The PEG solution prevents injured spinal cord nerve cells from irreversible rupturing. Stopping this process means the nerve cells can then heal themselves.