Helping arms and hands recover after neck-level spinal cord injury
Official title: Enhancing Forelimb Recovery by Promoting Forelimb Corticospinal Tract Regeneration after Spinal Cord Injury
Funded at VA San Diego Healthcare System · NIH-11222647 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tests ways to help the nerve pathways that control the arms and hands regrow after a cervical spinal cord injury so people with neck-level paralysis may regain hand movement.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | VA San Diego Healthcare System NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Diego, United States) |
| Project start | November 1, 2022 |
| Project end | October 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01RX003776-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11222647 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with cervical (neck-level) spinal cord injuries who have lost voluntary arm and hand movement would be the eventual candidates for therapies developed from this work.
✕Less likely to help
People whose paralysis is limited to the legs from lower (thoracic or lumbar) spinal cord injuries or whose weakness stems from non-spinal-cord conditions are unlikely to benefit from these specific forelimb-focused approaches.
What this research studies
Researchers are working to understand why nerve fibers that control the forelimbs (arms and hands) fail to regrow after cervical spinal cord injuries while those for the hindlimbs (legs) can. They use RNA sequencing to look for molecular differences between forelimb and hindlimb corticospinal neurons and run experiments in rats to test approaches that might boost forelimb axon regeneration. The team combines genetic and cell-based methods, including neural stem/progenitor cell grafts, to try to guide and encourage regrowth of arm- and hand-controlling pathways. Results from these laboratory and animal experiments are meant to point toward treatments that could later be tested in people with cervical spinal cord injuries.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to therapies that restore meaningful arm and hand function for people with cervical spinal cord injuries.
How similar studies have gone: Previous animal work using neural stem cell grafts has produced substantial hindlimb corticospinal tract regrowth, but promoting forelimb CST regeneration remains largely unachieved and this project builds on those partial successes.
Where this research is happening
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VA San Diego Healthcare System
San Diego, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lu, Pengzhe — VA San Diego Healthcare System
- Study coordinator: Lu, Pengzhe
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.