Researchers at the medical university Karolinska Institutet have created a genetically modified mouse in which certain neurons can be activated by blue light. Shining blue light on brainstems or spinal cords isolated from these mice produces walking-like motor activity. The findings, which are published in the scientific journal Nature Neuroscience, are of potential significance to the recovery of walking after spinal cord injury. Continue Reading »

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) — For the first time in the United States, stem cells have been directly injected into the spinal cord of a patient, researchers announced Thursday.

Doctors injected stem cells from 8-week-old fetal tissue into the spine of a man in his early 60s who has advanced ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It was part of a clinical trial designed to determine whether it is safe to inject stem cells into the spinal cord and whether the cells themselves are safe. Continue Reading »

ACA, December 21 2009: An electrifying breakthrough that brings real hope to people whove suffered catastrophic injury. Continue Reading »

Physical therapist Sandra Stevens first explored the use of underwater treadmills at Middle Tennessee State University with children suffering from cerebral palsy. She hypothesized that the underwater system might also have profound benefits for spinal cord injury patients struggling to relearn how to walk and move. Stevens noted dramatic improvement in endurance in patients who used the treadmills as part of their rehabilitation program. She said, “So they’ve gone from four or five minutes of walking to 32 or 34 minutes. That’s a big improvement,” in a DNA India article.

Stevens’ research has already helped a handful of spinal cord injury survivors to relearn to walk after suffering from full or partial paralysis. Continue Reading »

What is a spinal cord injury? This short clip shows what is meant by a spinal cord injury and explains how this can effect the bladder and bowel.

Vince Barton’s life will never be the same again.

The father-of-two’s world was turned upside down when he was hit by a car while cycling to work in an accident that left him unable to use his limbs.

Now he is pleading with motorists to take more care on the roads as figures revealed he was among 125 cyclists – more than two a week – who were hurt in road accidents in our area last year.

Off those, 22 victims were seriously injured and, like Mr Barton, the effects on their lives have been devastating. Continue Reading »

A gymnast who was paralysed when a lighting structure fell on her during a party in Qawra is determined that she will walk again.

Indeed, stem cell treatment she started in Moscow is already working “miraculously” for Vlada Kravchenko, who is now able to use her hips and thighs to crawl after suffering the horrific injury in 2008. Continue Reading »

Over the last couple of days, the Reeve Foundation has focused on supporting relief efforts that are directed at the people of Haiti with existing and newly acquired disabilities. Portlight Strategies and UCP Wheels For Humanity are a perfect match for our mission and are mobilizing rapidly.

Both of these organizations are known to the Reeve Foundation from previous Quality of Life Grants and are already in motion shipping medical supplies and wheelchairs to Haiti. Continue Reading »

Haiti Needs Spine-Specific Medical Aid, Doctors Say

Medical professionals are concerned that one class of injury — spinal cord trauma — may not be getting proper response in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck Haiti Tuesday.

Spinal cord injuries will be one of the most critical traumas faced by those trapped or injured in the wake of the disaster face, says Dr. Colleen O’Connell, secretary of Helping Hands for Haiti, a non-profit dedicated to providing medical rehabilitation services in Haiti. Continue Reading »

The Finetech Medical Bladder Control System. Used by people with complete spinal cord injury Continue Reading »