Spinal cord injury is a devastating condition that affects a significant number of U.S. troops in many combat theatres, and for which there is currently no effective treatment. Spinal cord injury also represents a major financial and societal cost. There is a need for treatments which can reduce the impact of the injury, and thus lead to a much better quality of life for the patient. Protection as soon as the injury occurs, at the site where the casualty is found, is absolutely essential in order to prevent the spread of injury. A good neuroprotective treatment should be not only efficacious but also safe. Our recent preclinical results indicate that docosahexaenoic acid, a compound that is an omega-3 fatty acid of natural origin, has powerful neuroprotective effects and can improve outcome after spinal cord injury, when administered acutely after the injury. This omega-3 fatty acid can powerfully modulate several processes that contribute to secondary degeneration after injury, and this explains its efficacy. We also know from various other observations that this type of compound is very safe, which increases even more its potential as a treatment in severely injured individuals. A treatment with this compound immediately after traumatic injury could significantly increase the probability of a better recovery, and thus would decrease the dramatic impact of this event in the wounded, and the long-term consequences. It would improve the quality of life and decrease the societal cost of injuries of this type.

In the last 5 years, our group has been leading this original research on docosahexaenoic acid and has provided the evidence that this is a compound with significant treatment potential in acute traumatic injury. This project aims to develop a preparation of docosahexaenoic acid which can be used for the first studies in patients, and which can thus be taken into clinical trials within the next 3 years. We are aiming to develop a preparation which can be easily used as a fast intervention on the battlefield. Ultimately, such an intervention would have a tremendous potential to change the standards of care in spinal cord injury worldwide, in both a military and civilian context.