Canadian stem cell trials impeded by federal regulations, doctors say

When a Swiss-based researcher announced this month he had achieved some improvement in profoundly paralyzed spinal-cord-injury patients with an injection of stem cells, he generated headlines worldwide. Dr. Armin Curt’s findings were the first evidence from actual humans — though far from conclusive — that the much-hyped stem-cell concept might work in paraplegic and quadriplegic patients.

What went unsaid was that the breakthrough could have taken place in Canada. Continue Reading »

A tiny step forward for spinal cord injuries

(CNN) — As the sun rose over France on August 13, 2011, Knut Olstad was looking forward to continuing his bicycle journey along the Tour de France route. But by the end of the day, the vacation had taken a terrible turn that would change his life.

The 46-year-old financial consultant from Norway doesn’t remember much about the accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down. He was shown pictures of himself lying on the ground with a broken back after being catapulted from his bike while trying to avoid a collision with a car. Continue Reading »

Study shows how embryonic stem cells orchestrate human development

Yale researchers show in detail how three genes within human embryonic stem cells regulate development, a finding that increases understanding of how to grow these cells for therapeutic purposes.

This process, described in the April 6 issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, is different in humans than in mice, highlighting the importance of research using human embryonic stem cells. Continue Reading »

Study to probe heart health, spinal cord injury link

VANCOUVER — Marni Abbott-Peter has won three gold medals over years of playing basketball around the globe.

It wasn’t until she got out of the game that she realized keeping her heart in good shape would feel like jumping through hoops.

The 46-year-old retired Paralympic athlete has used a wheelchair since crushing her spine in a downhill skiing accident at age 18. Continue Reading »

Severity of Spinal Cord Injury Has No Impact On How Adults Rate Their Health, Study Finds

Severity of spinal cord injury in adults is not related to how they rate their health, Wayne State University researchers have found.

In a study of self-rated health (SRH) published this month in the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, Cathy Lysack, Ph.D., deputy director of WSU’s Institute of Gerontology, along with former Wayne State researcher Katerina Machacova, Ph.D., and Stewart Neufeld, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Institute of Gerontology, evaluated people with spinal cord injuries (SCI) in an effort to better understand the relationship between their self-rated physical ability to perform necessary daily activities and their SRH — the way people perceive their own health. Continue Reading »

Spinal-Cord Injury Victim First to Undergo Embryonic Stem-Cell Therapy

Dr. Donald Leslie, medical director at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, has high hopes.

“We want to cure paralysis,” he said. “We want to stop spinal cord injury. How incredible would that be?”

Leslie’s mission has begun with T.J. Atchinson, the first step in research that he believes could lead to many steps for those who were told they would never walk again. Atchinson, 21, was the first human with a spinal cord injury to undergo embryonic stem cell therapy.

The athletic college student’s life took a hard turn in September when he was home from the University of Alabama visiting his family in Chatom and lost control of his car. Even before he was cut loose from the vehicle, he knew something was wrong. Continue Reading »

Curing Paralysis – Again

An article by Rob Stein on the front page of today’s Washington Post (May 20, 2011) announces a stunning breakthrough treatment for paralysis that has transformed the life of a man who was paralyzed in a car accident.  The successful experimental treatment involves electrical stimulation of his damaged spinal cord through implanted electrodes.  Scientists are still not exactly sure how it works, but it does.  For one individual reading this article, this breakthrough was very old news—more than 27 years old. Continue Reading »

Less Pain With New Treatment For Spinal Cord Injuries

Rutgers researchers have developed an innovative new treatment that could help minimize nerve damage in spinal cord injuries, promote tissue healing and minimize pain.

After a spinal cord injury there is an increased production of a protein (RhoA) that blocks regeneration of nerve cells that carry signals along the spinal cord and prevents the injured tissue from healing. Continue Reading »

Neurogenic bladder overactivity improved with botulinum toxin A injections

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Injections of onabotulinumtoxinA, better known as Botox, significantly reduce urinary incontinence due to neurogenic detrusor overactivity in patients with spinal cord injury or multiple sclerosis, a Canadian team reports.

There have been only a couple of randomized controlled trials of intravesical onabotulinumtoxinA injections in this setting, note Dr. Sender Herschorn, at the University of Toronto, Ontario, and colleagues in the June issue of the Journal of Urology. Continue Reading »

New Method May Quantify Response to Spinal Cord Injury

Inflammation after a spinal cord injury is nonresolving, and can be characterized by quantification of lymphocytes using resolution indexes (Ri) and resolution plateaus (Rp), according to an experimental study published online March 22 in Brain Pathology. Continue Reading »