• Mahmoud Yousefifard, Fatemeh Ramezani, Alexander R Vaccaro, Mostafa Hosseini, and Vafa Rahimi-Movaghar.
• Physiology Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
• Neuromodulation. 2023 Aug 1; 26 (6): 117111781171-1178.

BackgroundSpinal cord injury (SCI) treatment is still a challenge and new treatments that help these patients are being considered. Recent studies showed that the use of self-assembled peptide (SAP) can be useful in SCI treatment.Materials And MethodsIn this meta-analysis, we investigated the effect of SAP administration on locomotion recovery after SCI. Records were obtained from a comprehensive search of data bases. Articles were scrutinized for inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were analyzed and results were reported as standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% CI. Subgroup analysis was also performed.ResultsA total of 14 studies and 17 separate experiments were included in the final analysis. Treatment with SAP structures after SCI resulted in a significant improvement in animal motor function (SMD = 1.13; 95% CI: 0.68-1.58; p < 0.0001). SAP treatment facilitated axon sprouting (SMD = 0.76; 95% CI: 0.33-1.18; p < 0.0001) and reduction of glial scar (SMD = -1.02; 95% CI: -1.94 to -0.09; p = 0.03). The difference in SAP type, its concentration, follow-up time, and SCI model had no effect on SAP effectiveness. In addition, SAP administration had a similar effect on improving locomotion in all three immediate, acute, and subacute phases which gives the good news of using this treatment for patients who are in the chronic phase.ConclusionSAP treatment can be considered as a potential treatment to help the motor recovery of SCI and axon regeneration.Copyright © 2022 International Neuromodulation Society. All rights reserved.

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