GM-1 ganglioside in human spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury is typically a devastating injury with no or only limited neurologic recovery. Recent papers have reported enhancement of neurologic recovery following spinal cord injury with both methylprednisolone and GM-1 ganglioside. This paper provides additional details of the GM-1 study and a further analysis of recovery of motor function for each of the ten neurologic levels assessed in the study. This additional analysis provides further evidence that the largest enhanced recovery of motor function in the GM-1 treatment group occurred in the muscles of the lower extremities and is consistent with the enhanced recovery occurring in the white matter tracts passing through the level of injury.