Research Projects

Wings for Life solely supports the most promising international projects and research.

This section presents the projects that Wings for Life is currently funding and the ones that have been funded in the past. Having undergone a strict selection process ("peer-review system"), based on various criteria such as originality, feasibility and applicability to spinal cord injured patients, the selected projects will foster and strengthen international cutting-edge spinal cord injury research.

Wings for Life has defined main areas of research as follows:

1) Neuronal and glial protection: The aim is to stop or limit the death of the neuron and the glia, which are the basic component of the spinal cord, after a spinal cord injury.
                                 
2) Remyelination: Uncovered (“naked”) fibres are non-functional, similar to a cable without insulating sheath. The aim of this topic is to recover the fibres (neurons) in order to have them conducting a "normal nerve signal" again.
       
3) Regeneration/plasticity: Achieve regeneration of the injured nerve fibres by (i) promoting the ability for regeneration or by (ii) diminution of the inhibitory signal.
                                   
4) Neuroreconstructive therapies: The reconstruction of the damaged united cell structure is achieved through substitution of various cell types, e.g. stem cells transplantation.

5) Compensatory approach to SCI: These types of projects are not focused on the direct repair of the injured nervous system but rather on the way to establish an electronic bypass of the lesion site.

Wings for Life supports projects that are focused on these five areas of research.

The discovered treatment could be applicable in acute patients and after re-evaluation also putatively in chronic patients.

For explanations of terminology please see the glossary.