Spinal Cord Injury Information Pages News Blog

Small steps for paralyzed man, giant leaps for treating spinal cord injuries

2011-05-23T16:39:00.005-04:00

A device helps a man paralyzed from the waist down make an 'unprecedented' recovery, taking steps on a treadmill and regaining other key functions. The treatment could potentially allow 10% to 15% of people with spinal cord injuries to regain some use of their legs.A 25-year-old Los Angeles man paralyzed from the waist down after being hit by a car in 2006 has regained the ability to stand,

Groundbreaking Discovery; Researchers Regenerate Nerves Using PTEN Gene

2011-04-22T15:32:00.002-04:00

Reeve Irvine Research Center in collaboration with Harvard University's Associate Professor of Neurology, Zhigang He, have fundamentally changed the history of curing paralysis from spinal cord injury. Through a groundbreaking discovery involving the PTEN gene, researchers have regenerated nerves in the damaged spinal cord of mice responsible for movement and sensation in the body.

Cancer Drug May Aid Nerve Regeneration after Spinal Cord Injury

2011-02-03T21:20:00.001-05:00

The cancer drug Taxol has the potential to assist nerve regeneration following a spinal cord injury, according to researchers.The study, which has been published on the Sciencemag website, details how the drug can help in the regeneration of damaged cells in the central nervous system following a spinal cord injury.According to the press release, Taxol "stabilizes growing nerve cells and reduces

First Embryonic Stem Cell Treatment Tried on Spinal Cord Injury

2010-10-12T11:09:00.000-04:00

A California bio-tech company has begun testing an embryonic stem-cell drug treatment on a patient with spinal cord injuries, marking the first time a drug made with embryonic stem cells has been used on a human.The patient was enrolled at Shepherd Center, a spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation center in Atlanta. In order to participate, the patient had to have been injured within the

Stem Cell Trial Offers Hope for Patients with Spinal Cord Injuries

2010-10-06T13:02:00.001-04:00

A provocative video of two rodents with spinal cord injuries was shown to an audience gathered Tuesday at the Detroit Marriot for the second day of the World Stem Cell Summit.One of the rodents dragged its left hind leg, suffered from incontinence and couldn’t stand. The other rodent had an injection of embryonic stem cells and appeared to have more mobility in its back legs.The video was

First Stem Cell Clinical Trial for Spinal Cord Injury Patients

2010-09-24T16:43:00.005-04:00

Northwestern Medicine is the first site open for enrollment in a national clinical research trial of a human embryonic stem cell-based therapy for participants with a subacute thoracic spinal cord injury. Following the procedure, participants will receive rehabilitation treatment at The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC).Northwestern also is the lead site of the trial, sponsored by Geron

Recovering Movement In Chronic Spinal Cord Injury

2010-08-24T17:12:00.000-04:00

The University of California, Irvine, has just completed the very first study to show that human stem cells can bring back movement in spinal cord injury, advocating the possibility of treatment for a more vast populace of patients. Past breakthroughs in stem cell studies concentrated on the vital or beginning stage of spinal cord injury, a time span of up to a couple of weeks after the onset

Potential Spinal Cord Injury Treatments

2010-08-24T17:07:00.001-04:00

There have been several recent developments in the potential treatment of spinal cord injury. A group of researchers showed they were able to enhance the regeneration of nerve connections after spinal cord injury by deleting an enzyme called PTEN. The enzyme controls a molecular pathway called mTOR that is a key regulator of cell growth. During development, when nerve growth and connections

Spinal Cord Injury Treatment Hope after New Stem Cell Breakthrough

2010-08-18T15:07:00.001-04:00

Patients who have suffered spinal cord injuries have been given new hope of a treatment, after scientists reported a breakthrough in the use of stem cells.Researchers said they have discovered that stem cells taken from the brain could be used to restore movement to paralysed patients.Experts said the breakthrough could pave the way for the creation of a spare set of matching cells, which could

New Hope for Spinal Cord Injury Patients

2010-07-27T18:34:00.003-04:00

Tiny nerves taken from the rib cage, fortified with a powerful growth inducer and transplanted in the spinal cord significantly reversed paralysis in rats with spinal cord injuries.That’s the finding of a study in the issue of the Journal of Neurotrauma. The study shows that nerve cells can be inserted and stimulated to grow in damaged areas of the spinal cord, and the discovery may lead to

Hip-Hop Artist and Neuroscientist Find Common Ground in Hope

2010-07-27T17:29:00.003-04:00

The following story, which could be either a feature or news story, focuses on the relationship between a hip-hop artist who is paralyzed from a spinal cord injury, and world renowned Rutgers neurosurgeon Wise Young.The two are working together to raise money for clinical trials in the U.S.Read the article at news.Rutgers.edu

Mice Hair May Repair Spinal Damage

2010-06-21T14:20:00.001-04:00

A POTENTIAL treatment for spinal cord injuries has been found in the most unlikely of places - mice hair.The ground-breaking discovery, unveiled at the World Congress for Hair Research in Cairns yesterday, may give a glimmer of hope to those who cannot walk.US and Japanese researchers have found a new source of stem cells in the hair follicles of mice.The stem cells, discovered by chance by

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2010-04-30T17:05:00.001-04:00

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New Hope for Brain, Spinal Cord Injuries

2009-12-14T12:47:00.001-05:00

Deletion of key gene could help nerve fibers regenerate, researchers sayDeleting a gene that suppresses natural growth factors enables regeneration of injured nerve fibers (axons) in mice, a new study shows.The finding may lead to new treatments for people with brain and spinal cord injuries.Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston deleted the gene SOCS3 -- an inhibitor of a growth pathway

Scientists Make Paralyzed Rats Walk Again After Spinal Cord Injury

2009-09-21T12:06:00.003-04:00

UCLA researchers have discovered that a combination of drugs, electrical stimulation and regular exercise can enable paralyzed rats to walk and even run again while supporting their full weight on a treadmill.Published Nov. 20 in the online edition of Nature Neuroscience, the findings suggest that the regeneration of severed nerve fibers is not required for paraplegic rats to learn to walk again.

New data on Paralysis Could Impact Future Treatment Strategies

2009-09-01T10:14:00.003-04:00

Sufficient information on the prevalence of Americans living with paralysis and spinal cord injuries (SCI) has always been hard to come by. Most information cited in educational literature and on many Web sites regarding paralysis and SCI is extremely outdated. This presents numerous hurdles in devising new or evaluating existing policies, programs, and services for people living with these types

Human Clinical Trials for Stem Cell Research on Cards

2009-08-10T09:57:00.000-04:00

In what is seen as a boost to the stem cell research in the country, India would soon get to host human clinical trials for therapies using umbilical blood cord (UBC) stem cell.Chennai-based Apollo Hospital, America’s largest stem cell company StemCyte and Dr Wise Young, a leading expert on spinal cord injury, are in talks for conducting clinical trials in India using stem cell derived from UBC.

Crucial Finding Advances Spinal Cord Injury Research

2009-08-04T10:12:00.003-04:00

Scientists guide axons to re-form nerve connections in ratsIn a finding that is a major advance in spinal cord injury research, U.S. scientists report that regenerating axons can be guided to their correct targets where they can re-form connections after spinal cord injury.Previous research showed that severed axons -- long, slender projections of a nerve cell that conduct electrical impulses --

Blue Food Dye Helps Heal Spinal Cord Injuries

2009-07-28T12:11:00.002-04:00

Brilliant blue G may be the best treatment available, researchers sayA common and safe blue food dye might provide the best treatment available so far for spinal cord injuries, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.Tests in rats showed the dye, called brilliant blue G, a close relative of the common food dye Blue no. 1, crossed into the spinal fluid and helped block inflammation, Maiken Nedergaard

Stem-Cell Breakthrough

2009-07-28T11:58:00.003-04:00

It's a chilling thought. In the coming year, 130,000 people worldwide will suffer spinal-cord injuries—in a car crash, perhaps, or a fall. More than 90 percent of them will endure at least partial paralysis. There is no cure. But after a decade of hype and controversy over research on embryonic stem cells—cells that could, among other things, potentially repair injured spinal cords—the world's

More Paralyzed in US than Previously Thought

2009-04-21T11:51:00.000-04:00

About 5.6 million Americans have some degree of paralysis — far more than previously thought, according to the findings of a telephone survey released today by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation.The 2008 survey of more than 33,000 U.S. households defined paralysis as "a central nervous system disorder resulting in difficulty or inability to move" arms or legs. Mobility problems from muscular

"Moment by Moment: The Healing Journey of Molly Hale"

2009-04-10T11:38:00.003-04:00

"Moment by Moment: The Healing Journey of Molly Hale" is an inspiring documentary film on a woman's journey to heal from a spinal cord injury. It documents Molly's progress to work past a prediction that she would be paralyzed from the shoulders down. Through a variety of healing methods and an outpouring of hands-on-support from her community, she is beginning to learn to walk again and has hope

Hope for Spinal Cord Injuries

2009-04-09T09:34:00.000-04:00

A paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA reports success in repairing damaged nerves in a system critical for human movement.

Scientists Advance Stem Cell Research

2009-03-07T15:05:00.000-05:00

Scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston are on the forefront of stem cell research, developing novel therapies designed to generate heart cells, repair traumatic lung injuries, grow new bone and stanch the spread of cancer cells.Research at the UT Health Science Center at Houston is focused on embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. A stem cell is a generic cell

Microscopic Fibers String Spinal Cord Back Together

2009-02-17T09:30:00.000-05:00

With plans just approved for the first trial to treat spinal cord injuries in humans with embryonic stem cells, a team of Northwestern scientists is tackling the problem from a different angle: through microscopic messenger molecules that can tell the disconnected nerve cells to re-grow.The molecules are called nanofibers, and scientists at Northwestern's Institute for BioNanotechnology in