BACKGROUND: Medical breakthroughs happen every day in research laboratories across the world. Researchers are constantly looking to come up with promising new therapies aimed at saving human lives. Each medical university in the United States has its own research success stories and it continues every minute of every day. At the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, researchers are close to uncovering new treatments that could help millions of people across the country -- and across the world.

STATINS FOR SPINAL CORDS: Drugs called statins were originally designed to lower cholesterol. Since their approval, statins have been studied to treat everything from Alzheimer's disease to multiple sclerosis for their effect on inflammation, and researchers continue to find new uses for the drug.

Now, researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina have found statins should help people with spinal cord injuries recover. Inderjit Singh, Ph.D., is leading the research, which, for the first time, shows statins have an effect on spinal cord injuries after they've occurred. In animal models, Dr. Singh and his colleagues found animals that received a statin shortly after an injury that caused hind limb paralysis showed significant functional recovery and less secondary tissue damage. In other words, animals that were previously paralyzed actually started walking again after they received treatment with statins. Researchers say statins protect cells responsible for producing myelin in the spinal cord. Myelin is a substance that maintains normal function by insulating nerve fibers that carry signals through the spinal cord. Dr. Singh says, "This was the greatest excitement -- when you see things you have worked [on] ... translating into animals and it has the potential to go to humans. This was major excitement." Not only does it have the potential to go to human trials -- that's the next step. Because statins are already FDA-approved and considered relatively safe, researchers expect human trials to start early next year.

WOUND-HEALING WEAPON: Across campus, researchers are on the verge of another breakthrough that could affect millions of people. Gautam Ghatnekar, D.V.M., Ph.D., and colleagues from the Medical University of South Carolina have come up with an innovative way to repair wounds and regenerate tissue faster and with less scarring. They have developed a bioengineered peptide based on a naturally occurring protein in the body that helps regulate communication between cells. In a study on pigs, the gel-like substance reduced scarring by 50 percent and healed wounds twice as fast. It also reduced inflammation surrounding the wound. Dr. Ghatnekar says the uses for the peptide are endless. "We expect this to be used right from mothers applying it on their children with cuts and bruises to soldiers taking it to the battlefield in their backpacks and putting it right on their injuries," Dr. Ghatnekar said.

The peptide can also be injected to heal the body from the inside out. Injecting it means the peptide could heal wounds from brain, heart and other organ injuries, resulting in less overall damage to the patient. Dr. Ghatnekar and his team hope to start human clinical trials on the wound-healing peptide in November 2007.