Spinal Cord Injury Information Pages News Blog

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 Most information cited in educational literature and on many Web sites regarding paralysis and SCI is extremely outdated.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

Help Find A Cure for SCI!

2008-12-16T10:53:00.003-05:00

By joining Find A Cure Panel?s exciting online research panel for people with spinal cord injuries, you will be empowered to share your personal experiences in vital research.What's more, for each survey you complete a $10 donation is made directly to a worthy nonprofit organization in spinal cord injury research and support.Registering is fast, free and your privacy is completely protected!

Fat Cells May Restore Spinal Cord Function Post Injury

2008-12-14T09:37:00.002-05:00

Mature fat cells helped mice recover from spinal cord injuries, according to a promising new study. They could become a source for cell replacement therapy to treat central nervous system disorders in humans.Yuki Ohta of the St. Mariana University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan, who led the study, said fat or adipose-derived stem cells have been shown to differentiate into neuronal cells in

Nanotechnology for Spinal Cord Injury

2008-11-21T15:33:00.004-05:00

A cure for spinal injuries that leave people paralyzed, currently incurable, is being developed by Researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago. They are looking into using new nanotechnology that could enable them to completely heal cut and severed spinal cords allowing the previously paralyzed to walk again.Spinal cord injury often leads to permanent paralysis and loss of sensation below

Nose Cells May Heal Spinal Cord Injuries

2008-11-21T15:26:00.002-05:00

People paralysed by spinal cord injuries could soon be "repaired" using cells from their own noses, say Otago University researchers.The Health Ministry's ethics committee has just approved an application by the Spinal Cord Society to open the way for a clinical trial involving 12 patients, which could start next year.The society's president, Noela Vallis, said there was no shortage of volunteers

Promising Therapies for Spinal Cord Injuries

2008-11-21T15:15:00.004-05:00

A quarter of a million Americans are currently living with spinal cord injuries, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.Although most people know this type of injury can be a devastating diagnosis, not everyone knows there are many different types of spinal cord injuries. The location of the injury along the spinal cord determines what parts of the body are

Stem-cell Therapy in Moscow Attracting Patients from West

2008-11-10T11:09:00.000-05:00

Every three months, David Martin, a quadriplegic, returns to a small clinic here in the Russian capital for therapy he cannot legally get back home in Kalamazoo, Mich.: injections of stem cells taken from his own body, at a cost of $12,000 per visit.Martin's U.S. doctors have tried to dissuade him from believing any improvement in his condition could be the byproduct of stem-cell treatments, a

Researchers Developing Therapy to Treat Paralysis

2008-10-27T11:21:00.001-04:00

A team of researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio are developing a new therapy that will help paralysis victims regain control of their muscles.Functional Electrical Stimulation uses electric currents to stimulate muscles that no longer receive messages from the brain."When someone has a spinal cord injury, it's like they cut an electrical wire," Brian Heidenreich,

Stem Cells Identified for Spinal-Cord Repair

2008-07-20T15:05:00.004-04:00

A researcher at MIT?s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory has pinpointed stem cells within the spinal cord that, if persuaded to differentiate into more healing cells and fewer scarring cells following an injury, may lead to a new, non-surgical treatment for debilitating spinal-cord injuries.The work, reported in the July issue of the journal PLoS (Public Library of Science) Biology, is by

Allen Institute Releases Spinal Cord Map

2008-07-17T17:42:00.001-04:00

Spinal cord injuries have long baffled doctors. Now the Allen Institute for Brain Science is doing for spinal research what they did for brain science - providing the first comprehensive road map of a mouse's spine."It's a groundbreaking project that tells us where each gene in the genome is turned on in cells in the spinal cord," Dr. Allan Jones, Allen Institute's Chief Scientific Officer, said

Advances Offer Hope for Spinal Cord Injury Patients

2008-05-05T19:04:00.003-04:00

Cell transplantation, physical therapy show promise in restoring functionThere is no cure for a spinal cord injury, but much headway has been made in clinical research that could lead to one. Other therapies have helped to restore some function in spinal cord injured patients. A look at some efforts?The latest in cell transplantationCell-based therapies hold the potential for replacing cells and

Decompression Aids Spinal Injury Recovery

2008-04-30T12:24:00.005-04:00

Done within 24 hours, the procedure improved neurological outcomes a year laterSurgical decompression of the spinal cord involves the removal of various tissue or bone fragments that are being squeezed and comprising the spinal cord. While commonly done after an injury occurs, the timing of the procedure varies widely.The study looked at 170 patients with cervical spinal cord injuries, graded as

New Discovery May Aid Treatment of Spinal Cord Injuries

2008-04-18T10:50:00.002-04:00

A discovery by researchers at University of Minnesota may provide new insights into how the spinal cord controls walking, and this may pave the way for developing treatments for diseases of the central nervous like Parkinson?s disease and spinal cord injuries.Led by Joshua Puhl, Ph.D., and Karen Mesce, Ph.D., in the Departments of Entomology and Neuroscience, the study has found a possibility

Nanotechnology May Help Reconnect Nerves

2008-04-08T20:48:00.002-04:00

U.S. researchers say they have created a nano-engineered gel that can enable severed spinal cord fibers to regenerate and grow.Mice paralysed by spinal injuries have been able to walk again thanks to a treatment developed by scientists in the US. The therapy uses proteins that self-assemble into nano-fibers at the site of the injury, encouraging nerves to regrow.Spinal cord injuries often lead to