On anniversary of accident, paralyzed Severn man hopes for independence

There are moments in time that can forever alter your life. Evan Cronhardt’s life changed its course on April 10, 2008 as he was driving across an intersection near his Severn home. His Jeep was struck by a vehicle that may have been racing on Quarterfield Road.

Evan was thrown from his Jeep, then crushed as it rolled over on him.

He recalls the suffocating weight of of his Jeep and the tracheotomy he endured as paramedics worked to save his life.

When he awoke in a Baltimore hospital, his spine was crushed and his pelvis was broken, paralyzing him from the neck down. He started a long series of operations as doctors tried to repair his multiple broken vertebrae. Continue Reading »

New Hope for Reversing the Effects of Spinal Cord Injury

New Brunswick, NJ – Walking is the obvious goal for individuals who have a chronic spinal cord injury, but it is not the only one. Regaining sensation and continence control also are important goals that can positively impact an individual’s quality of life. New hope for reversing the effects of spinal cord injury may be found in a combination of stem cell therapy and physical therapy as reported in Cell Transplantation by scientists at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Continue Reading »

Hope for spinal cord injuries

Researchers deploy “sonic hedgehog” to help repair damage

EAST GREENBUSH — Researchers in the Capital Region have created microscopic beads that may help heal spinal cord injuries when injected into wounds.

“For spinal cord-injured patients, there is nothing out there yet in terms of regenerative therapy,” said biologist Sally Temple, who is hopeful this new treatment will work in humans. Temple runs the not-for-profit New York Neural Stem Cell Institute on the University at Albany’s East Campus.

Two months ago, Geron Corp. stopped the world’s first clinical trial on embryonic stem cells because of funding problems. The trial was testing whether stem cells could heal spinal cord injures. The company said it will abandon the stem cell research entirely. Continue Reading »

Enzyme and graft combo restores lung function after spinal injury

Until the last few decades, it was generally thought that damage to the spinal cord was permanent, as the nerves within our vertebrae stubbornly resist regrowing severed connections after injuries. But a number of studies have helped us understand why exactly it is that the nerves refuse to grow, raising the prospect that we could use this knowledge to intervene and help repair damage to the spine. In the latest indication that progress is being made in these efforts, researchers have used a combination of enzyme treatments and grafts to restore breathing activity in rats that had had their spinal connections completely severed. Continue Reading »

New hope for ventilator patients

A new approach to nerve repair has restored breathing to rats with spinal cord injury.

Scientists believe the same technique could help human patients who have to rely on ventilators, leaving them vulnerable to dangerous infections.

“We’ve shown for the very first time that robust, long distance regeneration can restore function of the respiratory system fully,” said lead researcher Professor Jerry Silver, from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, US.

The researchers used a section of peripheral nerve to “bridge” a break in the spinal cord which had paralysed half the diaphragm, the sheet-like muscle that enables breathing. Continue Reading »

Spinal-cord injury hasn’t slowed him down

New doctor helps patients, does research

Like many working parents of young children, south Charlotte residents Jesse and Michelle Lieberman juggle careers and family time.

Jesse, 33, is a physician at Carolinas Rehabilitation and is also pursuing a master’s degree in public health at UNC Charlotte. Michelle, 36, is an occupational therapist in the Carolinas HealthCare System. They are parents to 3-year-old twins, Gracey and Saul. Continue Reading »

Riding a bike with her hands

Canadian Morgan Van Breda is cycling from Delhi to Kanyakumari to raise awareness about spinal cord injury, and funds for her own treatment

Thirty two year-old Morgan Van Breda is cycling across India — with her hands. The ambitious young Canadian was only 24 when a soccer post collapsed on her back while she was in Cuba, turning her into a paraplegic.

Now, she is on a 3,900 km, seven-week journey from Agra to Kanyakumari on a handcyle, raising awareness about spinal cord injury, and funds for breakthrough stem cell research that may allow her to walk again.  Continue Reading »

Rick Hansen set to re-enact his Man in Motion journey

Relay involving 7,000 Canadians chosen from 600 communities along the route will begin on 25th anniversary of historic trek

When an exhausted but triumphant Rick Hansen pushed himself into Vancouver on May 22, 1987, after circling the globe in a wheelchair for two years, the miles were all behind him but the journey was just beginning. Continue Reading »

Australian Man Gets Treatment at Shepherd Center

ATLANTA – A 29-year-old Australian man who suffered a spinal chord injury found himself at Atlanta’s Shepherd Center for intense rehabilitation.

“I push myself every day,” said Shepherd Center patient Joshua Clift. “I treat it as a job, like you’re doing the extra hours and you only get out what you put in.”

Clift is more than 9,200 miles from home, but the 29-year-old isn’t complaining. Continue Reading »

Spleen Might Be Source of Damaging Cells at Spinal Cord Injury Site

Newswise — The spleen, an organ that helps the body fight infections, might also be a source of the cells that end up doing more harm than good at the site of a spinal cord injury, new research suggests.

Considering the spleen’s role in the after-effects of spinal cord injury could change the way researchers pursue potential treatments for these devastating injuries. Continue Reading »