MAKING MIRACLES HAPPEN: CHALLENGE CENTER TAKES THE “DIS” OUT OF DISABILITES

(San Diego’s East County) — “When I first had my stroke, I couldn’t speak or move my right side. I couldn’t walk,” recalled Austin Junkin, 80, of Lemon Grove. “Now I can do anything. I lift 100 pounds with ease,” he said, demonstrating his physical prowess by hoisting weights above his head inside the Challenge Center at Sunset Park in La Mesa.

Challenge Center isn’t any ordinary gym. The facility specializes in helping severely disabled patients, including those with spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries, attain dramatic improvements even after other physical therapy programs have failed. View Video. Continue Reading »

Signatures for Spinal Cord Research

Global Petition in support of Spinal Cord Research

The launch of a global petition in support of spinal cord research took place yesterday. Signatures for Spinal Cord Research is a compelling appeal to all spinal cord injured, their families, friends and the public to come together under one petition to urge funding and support for research that will deliver a cure for paralysis. 2.5 million people worldwide are victims of traumatic spinal cord injuries, with well over an additional 130,000 new cases occurring every year. Continue Reading »

Obama policy a lift for stem cell researchers

Stem cell research advocates have waited nearly eight years for the policy change President-elect Barack Obama has signaled he’ll make in the early days of his administration: lifting the restrictions imposed by President Bush on federal funding for research on human embryonic stem cells.

Those limits, and earlier laws, have left stem cell labs hungering for support since the versatile human stem cells were first derived in 1998.

Such cells, often taken from extra embryos created by in vitro fertilization clinics, can morph into the specialized cells found in skin, nerves and many other tissues. Continue Reading »

Thankful for 50 more years

Thrill-Seeker Has Led ‘Wonderfully Fulfilling Life’ Since Accident

VIENNA, Va. – At 67, Sharon Hovey says she is ready to settle down.

An Ashville native and self-described thrill-seeker, Ms. Hovey says she has lived her life on the edge – though bound to a wheelchair for the last 50 years by Quadriplegia. Continue Reading »

PREMIER OPENS WORLD-LEADING SPINAL CORD INJURY CENTRE

VANCOUVER – The world’s largest, most advanced and most comprehensive facility devoted to spinal cord injury research and patient care was opened today by Premier Gordon Campbell, Rick Hansen and members of the health care and spinal cord research community.

“The Blusson Spinal Cord Centre goes beyond any other facility in the world in bringing spinal cord patients together with outstanding researchers and health-care professionals,” said Premier Campbell. “This fully accessible building will be the most fertile ground anywhere on the planet for the discovery of breakthroughs to help people fully adapt to their injuries. Continue Reading »

Stem-cell therapy in Moscow attracting patients from West

MOSCOW — 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 therapy not yet approved in the United States. No scientific evidence has ever shown that such treatments can repair human spinal-cord injuries, experts say.

Yet Martin notices glints of progress — a twinge of sensation in one of his curled, still hands, a faraway feel of something cold on his skin. He attributes it to the stem-cell treatments he has been getting in Moscow. Continue Reading »

U.S. Sen. Harkin- Statement Regarding the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D- IA) delivered the following remarks yesterday on the floor of the Senate urging the adoption of S. 1183, the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act.

The text of the speech is below.

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I come to the Senate floor with a heavy heart and a clear purpose. Last Thursday would have been the 56th birthday of a great actor, a devoted father and husband, Christopher Reeve. Many Americans got to know Christopher Reeve when he put on that blue and red uniform of Superman and acted in so many Superman roles. He was also on television and stage. So we always think of Christopher Reeve as the first Superman. Continue Reading »

Govt must ensure disabled have social independence

More and more people with severe disabilities are seeking to take part in social activities while living independently at home. Yet not much progress has been made since the law to promote their independence went into effect in fiscal 2006.

Among such people is Akira Kinoshita, 21, who suffered a neck injury during a judo practice session when he was a high school student. Kinoshita started living in an apartment in Meguro Ward, Tokyo, with his mother in April. Paralyzed from the neck down, he relies on an artificial respirator. But he is studying hard to enter university while receiving nursing care from a home-visit helper as well as his mother. Continue Reading »

Family, friends rally to help chef fight back from injury

Family, friends rally to help chef fight back from injury

It happened in an instant. Dave Hartung was driving home from work the day after Christmas when a car darted from the shoulder of Interstate 97 and across two lanes to reach a ramp to U.S. 50.

The vehicle smashed his car. While describing the crash to state troopers, Hartung now realizes, he was in shock. He went home to Severn and only in a few hours did he realize he was in pain, he said. Continue Reading »

Defying Western Science, Chinese Biotech Pursues Untested Stem Cell Therapy

Although Beike Biotechnology’s promising stem cell treatment is unproven, patients are paying to receive the treatment in China.

Pursuing a controversial medical procedure that shows great promise but hasn’t been validated by clinical trials, a Chinese company is using stem cells to treat patients, many of them from the West, who have diseases previously thought incurable.The company, Beike Biotechnology, hosted the first China Stem Cell Technology Forum in late July.

Beike uses nonembryonic stem cells to treat a variety of ailments including heart disease and neurological disorders such as cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, muscular dystrophy, and optic nerve hypoplasia, a primary cause of blindness in children. Continue Reading »