A new study, published yesterday in the Medical Journal of Australia, shows seven of 23 rugby players who sustained acute spinal cord injury between 1997 and 2002 were scrum victims.

In all, 52 players across the codes – rugby union, rugby league, Australian football and soccer – were admitted to spinal units around the country over the period researched by five surgeons. Continue Reading »

Professor George Paxinos and Dr Yuri Koutcherov of the Spinal Injuries Research Centre at the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute have been awarded ~$200,000 by the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation to prepare a three-dimensional (3D) atlas of the rat spinal cord over the next two years.

Christopher Reeve met with Institute scientists during his visit to Australia in 2003 and was impressed with their work in spinal injuries research. Professor Paxinos is a world leader in the preparation of brain atlases, being the author of atlases of human, monkey, rat and mouse brains used world-wide by neuroscientists in all areas. Continue Reading »

Ten minutes after a recent announcement that South Korean scientists had discovered an efficient way to produce stem cells, the world’s largest spinal cord Web site carried the story.

“It’s unbelievable someone’s trolling the literature and posting it right away like that,” said Dr. Wise Young, administrator of www.sciwire.com. Continue Reading »