"When you couple GM-1's result with that of methylprednisolone, we now feel that spinal cord injury can be changed from an incurable condition to a treatable one," said Dr. Fred Geisler, who headed the the GM-1 study at the Maryland Shock Center Trauma in Baltimore. "It is not that either one cures. But now we have drugs that are producing better neurological outcomes."

Each year, about 10,000 Americans suffer spinal cord injuries. Many become paralyzed because damaged spinal cord nerves - the tiny fibers whose signals control movement, touch and feeling - do not heal or grow back as do nerves in the arms and legs. But doctors think that GM-1 and methylprednisolone may help surviving nerves.