Can Enforced Behavioral Activity in Spinal Cord Injured Rats be considered as Rehabilitation Process to Accentuate Tacrolimus Treated Recovery? A nursing Care Perspective

Experimental studies using suitable animal models for spinal cord injury (SCI) help to simulate clinical conditions as observed in humans and play an important role to understand the pathophysiology of the disease and to develop effective treatment modalities. To date no satisfactory drug treatment or other methodsof interventions like physiotherapeutically related rehabilitation process havebeen designed to repair the traumatically injured spinal cord in humans. The aim of the present study is to understand the behavioral recovery that often occurs following the initial primary injury, and to develop suitable rehabilitative intervention including pharmacological agent to enhance improved sensory and motor function. Furthermore, this research intends to bring awareness among the nurses working in general wards, specialized wards, and occupational health set-ups, to understand the need to show their passion for SCI patient’s care by exploring and learning standardized and improvised rehabilitation methods to manage and practice effective nursing caring skills for SCI patients.

Tacrolimus (also known as FK506), a macrolide lactane antibiotic, was introduced as an immunosuppressive agent with virtually no side effects. Tacrolimus, a potent calcineurin inhibitor exhibits neuroprotection actions in several experimental models of central nervous system trauma, including stroke and improved neurological recovery following peripheral and spinal cord injuries. However, some side effects from oral and intravenous administration of Tacrolimus in clinical case studies have been reported which include nephrotoxicity, lung damage, various neuropsychiatric problems, neurotoxic effects such as akinetic mutism and catatonic mutism. On the contrary, in experimental studies, Tacrolimus improves the functional outcome of spinal cord injury and has an in vivo neurotrophic action whereby it enhances the rate of axon regeneration leading to more rapid neurological recovery.(Read more)

Translation of the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54: Brazilian Version.

MS is a neurological disease that primarily affects young adults. Its prevalence varies by ethnicity and location decreasing in the lower latitude. According to recent data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the estimated number of people with MS worldwide increased from 2.1 million in 2008 to 2.3 million in 2013. Although its etiology remains uncertain, evidence suggests that MS is an immune-mediated attack on myelin with secondary destruction of axons causing progressive disability. The disease’s symptoms include weakness, fatigue, sensory loss, dizziness, lack of coordination, sexual dysfunction, urinary incontinence, optic atrophy, dysarthria, and mental problems. 

The longevity of patients with MS is about eight years less than that of a healthy person. Longevity is bimodally distributed with many patients having normal longevity and some dying at a significantly younger age depending on disease aggressiveness, disability severity, infection, or suicide. One third of patients with MS will need to use a wheelchair. About two-thirds will have disabilities that prevent them from working. It is important to incorporate a quality of life (QoL) evaluation from the beginning, during patient monitoring, and when evaluating the effects of the treatment used.(Read more)