Currently there is no effective treatment used in clinical practice for patients with an injured spinal cord. However, a group of orthopaedic scientists have recently discovered that the administration of microRNA-210 could be an effective treatment for an injured spinal cord by promoting regeneration following injury.

Previously, microRNA-210 has been studied as an effective treatment for cancer and other diseases. Scientists noted that there was an absence of this particular gene in cancerous tumors, but it was found in abundance in healthy tissue. By delivering what was missing directly to the diseased tumor, scientists were able to stop the progression of the disease. Continue Reading »

Acorda Therapeutics said today it won a $2.67 million contract from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command (USAMRMC) to support development of AC105 as a treatment for acute spinal cord injury (SCI).

The contract will help fund a Phase II clinical trial designed primarily to assess the safety and tolerability of AC105 in patients with acute SCI. The company plans to open enrollment for this study in the first half of this year. Continue Reading »

January 23, 2013 – Doctors at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, a Center of Excellence at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, performed the first-ever Food and Drug Administration approved Schwann cell transplantation in a patient with a new spinal cord injury. The procedure, performed at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center, is a Phase 1 clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety and feasibility of transplanting the patient’s own Schwann cells.

“This historic clinical trial represents a giant step forward in a field of medicine where each tangible step has tremendous value. This trial, and these first patients in this trial specifically, are extremely important to our mission of curing paralysis,” said neurosurgeon Barth Green, M.D., Co-Founder and Chairman of The Miami Project, and Professor and Chair of Neurological Surgery. Continue Reading »

A Big Opportunity – For Everyone

Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) refers to an injury to the spinal cord that is caused by direct trauma or secondary damage to the surrounding bone, tissue, or blood vessels. Classification of the extent of the injury is based on neurological responses, touch and pinprick sensations tested in each dermatome (an area of the skin supplied by a single spinal nerve), and strength of ten key muscles on each side of the body, including the hip flexion (L2), shoulder shrug (C4), elbow flexion (C5), wrist extension (C6), and elbow extension (C7). The four categories of SCI classification and their respective percent of the market are: Complete Tetraplegia (16%), Incomplete Tetraplegia (41%), Complete Paraplegia (22%), and Incomplete Paraplegia (21%) Continue Reading »

AS THE 2013 school year fast approaches, an enthusiastic bunch of injury prevention volunteers are ready to inspire Bundaberg children to stay safe and injury free.

The Spinal Education Awareness Team (SEAT) program is ready for its 26th year of motivating school kids to consider their personal safety in order to avoid a permanent injury.

SEAT veteran presenter Wayne Leo said SEAT had 20 volunteer presenters throughout Queensland. Continue Reading »

NSI-566 to be tested in patients with chronic spinal cord injury

ROCKVILLE, Md., Jan. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – Neuralstem, Inc. (NYSE MKT: CUR) announced that it received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to commence a Phase I safety trial of its lead cell therapy candidate, NSI-566, in chronic spinal cord injury patients. This open-label, multi-site study, will enroll up to eight patients with thoracic spinal cord injuries (T2-T12), who have an American Spinal Injury Association (AIS) A level of impairment,  between one and two years after injury. AIS A impairment refers to a patient with no motor or sensory function in the relevant segments at and below the injury, and is considered to be complete paralysis. Continue Reading »

CASA GRANDE, Arizona — A Casa Grande man who is a former U.S. Border Patrol agent created and patented a video game controller for people with severe spinal cord injuries.

Luis Pena formed LP Accessible Technologies and created the controller out of necessity. He was injured in an auto accident on the job in 2007 and is a quadriplegic.

His company focuses on building video game controllers that disabled people can use to play video games.

A longtime video game buff, Pena missed playing games after he recovered from the accident. So, he set out to create a controller he, and other people with disabilities, could use. Continue Reading »

COLUMBUS, Ohio – An experimental oral drug given to mice after a spinal cord injury was effective at improving limb movement after the injury, a new study shows.

The compound efficiently crossed the blood-brain barrier, did not increase pain and showed no toxic effects to the animals.

“This is a first to have a drug that can be taken orally to produce functional improvement with no toxicity in a rodent model,” said Sung Ok Yoon, associate professor of molecular & cellular biochemistry at Ohio State University and lead author of the study. “So far, in the spinal cord injury field with rodent models, effective treatments have included more than one therapy, often involving invasive means. Here, with a single agent, we were able to obtain functional improvement.” Continue Reading »

In 2007, an ATV accident left military veteran Scott Williams with a spinal cord injury that paralyzed him from the upper chest down. In the summer of 2012, after undergoing an autologous adipose-derived stem cell transplant into his spine at the Precision StemCell facility in Gulf Shores, Williams began noticing increased sensation in his left leg and the ability to slightly move both feet.

“Within one month, I was able to move my feet some, and I haven’t done that in over five years,” Williams stated. Continue Reading »

LP Accessible Technologies was founded by Luis Pena. Luis became a quadriplegic on October 18, 2007 when he was involved in a rollover accident while working. Living with the injury inspired him to build a product and provide it to others that would allow them to game again; as he did prior to the accident. The LP Pad was invented as a result to his determination to be more independent and desire to socialize with the world. Continue Reading »