A commonly used supplement（补充，附录） is likely to improve outcomes and recovery for individuals who sustain a spinal¹ cord injury (SCI), according to research conducted by University of Kentucky neuroscientists. Sasha Rabchevsky, associate professor of physiology², Patrick Sullivan, associate professor of anatomy³ and neurobiology, and Samir Patel, senior research scientist -- all of the UK Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center (SCoBIRC) -- have discovered that in experimental models, severe spinal cord injury can be treated effectively by administering the supplement acetyl-L-carnitine or ALC, a derivative⁴（衍生物） of essential amino acids（氨基酸） that can generate metabolic⁵ energy, soon after injury.

The researchers previously⁶ reported that following spinal cord injury, the mitochondria（线粒体） , or energy-generation components⁷ of cells, are overwhelmed by chemical stresses and lose the ability to produce energy in the form of the compound adenosine triphosphate (ATP三磷酸腺苷). This leads to cell death at the injury site and, ultimately, paralysis⁸ of the body below the injury level.

Rabchevsky, Sullivan and Patel have recently demonstrated that ALC can preserve the vitality⁹ of mitochondria by acting¹⁰ as an alternative biofuel providing energy to cells, thus bypassing damaged mitochondrial enzymes¹¹ and promoting neuroprotection.

Results soon to be published show that systemic administration of ALC soon after a paralyzing injury promoted the milestone¹² recovery of the ability to walk. Unlike the animal control group given no ALC, which regained¹³ only slight hindlimb movements, the group treated with ALC recovered hindlimb movements more quickly and were able to stand on all four limbs and walk a month later. Critically, such remarkable¹⁴ recovery was correlated with significant tissue sparing at the injury site following administration of ALC.

Because ALC can be administered orally, and is well-tolerated at relatively¹⁵ high doses in humans, researchers believe that their discovery may be translated easily to clinical practice as an early intervention¹⁶ for people with traumatic spinal cord injuries.

Initial funding for these studies was provided by the Kentucky Spinal Cord and Head Injury Research Trust (KSCHIRT). Based on their findings, the research team has been awarded additional grant funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, with the aim of enabling the investigators¹⁷ to study the beneficial effects of combining ALC with an antioxidant agent known as N-acetylcysteine amide (NACA). The results were reported at the recent National Neurotrauma Society Symposium¹⁸ in July 2011, and will be presented again at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in November 2011.

When translated into clinical practice（临床实践） , this research is expected to offer a viable¹⁹ pharmacological（药理学的） option for promoting neuroprotection and maximizing functional²⁰ recover following traumatic spinal cord injury.