Photodynamic therapy as a potential treatment for spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a major cause of disability and largely affects the quality of life. Injured axons cannot regenerate past the lesion due to the formation of glial scar which has become an important target for regeneration research in SCI. Although significant efforts have been invested in inhibition the glial scar to promote the recovery of SCI patients, no satisfying method has been found. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an effective way to inhibit the growth of the target cells and tissue based on photosensitizer and light that are combined to induce cellular and tissue damages in an oxygen-dependent manner. We reasonably hypothesize that PDT might be a novel treatment for SCI.