Combined approaches to spinal cord injury therapy

Currently, regenerative medicine (cell therapy) or motor rehabilitation approaches are being used to overcome the consequences of spinal cord injury. However, the efficacy of these approaches at the preclinical research stage does not always translate into successful implementation in clinical practice. In particular, complete recovery from functional deficits caused by severe spinal cord injury is often not possible. In this context, the development of combined approaches based on cell transplantation and neuromodulation is needed to enhance the neuroregenerative effect. The addition of dosed motor training to the overall treatment plan and in the context of combined approaches may have a significant supportive effect. In this review, we focused on evaluating clinical trials that used combinations of different approaches to gain an understanding of the mechanisms underlying their therapeutic effects. Despite the positive therapeutic outcomes of combined approaches, further research is needed into the emerging cellular and molecular changes involved in the reorganisation of neuronal connections.