WASHINGTON : Two US companies this year broke new ground by winning regulatory approval to start the first experiments using embryonic stem cells on humans suffering from spinal cord injury and blindness.

The potent but hotly debated cells can transform into nearly any cell in the human body, opening a path toward eliminating such ills as Parkinson’s disease, paralysis, diabetes, heart disease, and maybe even the ravages of aging. Continue Reading »

Gold Pictures and The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation are proud to announce the premiere of The Power Wheelchair Comparison Web Series. Continue Reading »

When she was a little girl, Emerald Ralston eagerly waited at the window with binoculars pressed to her eyes, looking for her brother to return from kindergarten.

When Em was old enough to go to school in Waterloo, Ian walked her there every day, even after other boys teased him.

When Em tried to run away at age 13 because of a spat with her mother, Ian ran after her, executing a perfect driveway tackle.

“Take your punishment,” he said. She walked back to the house and did.

When Ian enlisted in the Army, she was proud. When Em enlisted in the Air Force, he was.

But when Em walked into Ian’s room at Walter Reed Army Medical Center last May, it was her hardest time as a sister. Continue Reading »

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Computer science might not be the obvious major for students looking to change the world. But two teams of University at Buffalo students are proving that programming can translate into compassion.

Last spring, Austin Miller, Robert Rodenhaus, Leonard Story Jr. and Matthew Taylor, classmates in a computer engineering class, developed OmniSwitch, a software program that enables quadriplegics and other people with limited mobility to type letters, surf the web, listen to music and play computer games with a single button or switch. Continue Reading »

The Kelly Brush Foundation

The Kelly Brush Foundation is dedicated to Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Research, purchasing adaptive sports equipment for individuals with SCI, and supporting the U.S. Adaptive Ski Team Continue Reading »

Canada’s medical marijuana regime in shambles, say critics.

Imagine that you have a painful, debilitating medical or psychological condition. You and your doctor agree that a certain medicine is the best available treatment. Now imagine that, rather than taking your doctor’s note into the nearest drug store and waiting a few minutes while the pleasant young person behind the counter fills your prescription, you have to send off forms to Ottawa and wait as long as eight to 10 months before you can get your medicine. In the meantime, if you find a way to access what you need in a less formal way, you live every day with the prospect of armed men in body armor breaking into your home and arresting you. Continue Reading »

Inspiration Awards Enhance the Lives of Those With SCI

BURLINGTON, Vt. (Dec. 16, 2010) –The Kelly Brush Foundation awarded $45,000 in Kelly Brush Inspiration Grants for adaptive sports equipment to recipients from Maine to California, Executive Director Joyce Wallace announced.

In all, 14 individuals from across the United States who are living with spinal cord injury (SCI) received grants for adaptive equipment including monoskis and handcyles. Continue Reading »

Changing the Face of Neuroscience: Are Stem Cells Really Required to Heal a Spinal Cord Injury? Continue Reading »

Eli the donkey provides another example from the animal world of the success of adult stem cells. On May 13, 2010 Eli was attacked by a stablemate twice his size. The trauma led to swelling of his spinal cord, and rapid progression of weakness in his front end and hindquarters. The veterinarians treating Eli also got the opinion of Dr. Mike Kistler of Cortez, Colorado, a senior member of the American Society of Neuroradiology with more than 25 years of experience in human spinal trauma. Continue Reading »

Study says sensory input can be added to brain-machine interfaces

Brain-machine interfaces — devices that let users control electronics with their minds — have long enabled paralyzed individuals to perform everyday tasks such as sending e-mails and playing video games. But the problem with such interfaces is that they tend to lack the feeling of movement that typically goes along with these activities. Continue Reading »