Scientists from the University of Queensland will begin clinical trials that will see them block a specific protein to aid in the treatment of spinal cord injuries following a major research breakthrough. 

The announcement comes after researchers from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR), Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) and University of Melbourne discovered dramatic improvements in balance and coordination of patients when blocking the EphA4 protein.

QBI Director and study co-leader, Professor Perry Bartlett said the research confirmed and expanded on previous studies showing that blocking the action of this protein receptor prevented the loss of nerve tissue following injury and promoted repair. 

Professor Bartlett and QIMR Professor Andrew Boyd identified the role of EphA4 in 1998. 

They showed that the EphA4 protein was critical to the development of the nerves which control walking and other complex muscle functions. 

Subsequent studies showed that after a spinal cord injury, the production of the EphA4 protein was increased and this protein acted to stop severed nerve endings from regrowing through the injury site. 

Professor Boyd's laboratory at QIMR, working with Professor Bartlett's lab at UQ, then developed a “decoy” protein, to block, or inhibit EphA4 function.