Acetyl-l-carnitine treatment following spinal cord injury improves mitochondrial function correlated with remarkable tissue sparing and functional recovery

▶Acetyl-l-carnitine maintained mitochondrial function in spinal cord-injured rats. ▶Daily ALC treatment increased tissue sparing and hind limb locomotion after SCI. ▶ALC fostered specific neuroprotection of cholinergic neurons in spinal cord lamina X. ▶Sparing of “CPG” propriospinal neurons was associated with behavioral recovery. ▶Targeting mitochondrial dysfunction with ALC after SCI renders neuroprotection.