Human stem cells restore motor function in mice

IRVINE — A UC Irvine study is the first to demonstrate that human neural stem cells can restore mobility in cases of chronic spinal cord injury, suggesting the prospect of treating a much broader population of patients.

Previous breakthrough stem cell studies have focused on the acute, or early, phase of spinal cord injury, a period of up to a few weeks after the initial trauma when drug treatments can lead to some functional recovery. Continue Reading »

Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation Announces Expansion of NeuroRecovery Network

Three community-based health and wellness facilities to provide better access to exercise for those living with paralysis

The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation has named three new locations to its NeuroRecovery Network (NRN) Community Fitness and Wellness facilities, which afford people with physical disabilities the chance to improve their health through exercise. Courage Center in Minneapolis, MN, Neuroworx in South Jordan, UT, and NextSteps Chicago, in Chicago, Illinois join Frazier Rehab Institute – Community Fitness and Wellness Facility in Louisville, KY and NextStep Fitness in Lawndale, CA. Continue Reading »

Department of Defense Gives $5.4 Million to Spinal Cord Injury Research

HOUSTON, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The United States Department of Defense (DoD) awarded the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation a $5.4 million grant to support the expansion of translational research to find treatments for military men and women with spinal cord injuries.

The DoD gave the two-year, peer-reviewed grant to the Foundation’s North American Clinical Trials Network (NACTN), an international network of hospitals led by Dr. Robert G. Grossman, chairman of neurosurgery at the Methodist Neurological Institute in Houston. Continue Reading »

Robust Regeneration of Injured Nerves Achieved for First Time in Adult Mammalian Spinal Cord

BOSTON, Aug. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Researchers for the first time have induced robust regeneration of nerve tissue connections in injured adult spinal cord sites that control voluntary movement. These findings provide hope that it may be possible to design therapies for paralysis and other impairments of motor function arising from spinal cord injury. Continue Reading »

Hopes raised for spinal injury as stem cells are ‘virtually identical’

Spinal cord injury patients may be another step closer to treatment that could repair damaged nerve tissue.

According to research from the Whitehead Institute in the US, human embryonic stem (ES) cells and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells display very few differences.

iPS cells are created by introducing three genes that effectively “reprogramme” the cell to a more flexible, embryonic state. Continue Reading »

Adult stem cell research far ahead of embryonic

NEW YORK — A few months ago, Dr. Thomas Einhorn was treating a patient with a broken ankle that wouldn’t heal, even with multiple surgeries. So he sought help from the man’s own body.

Einhorn drew bone marrow from the man’s pelvic bone with a needle, condensed it to about four teaspoons of rich red liquid, and injected that into his ankle.

Four months later the ankle was healed. Einhorn, chairman of orthopedic surgery at Boston University Medical Center, credits “adult” stem cells in the marrow injection. He tried it because of published research from France. Continue Reading »

FDA OK’s First Human Testing Of Embryonic Stem Cells

The FDA lifted its hold on Friday for a clinical trial to test embryonic stem cells as a treatment for spinal cord injury, approving for the first time the testing of embryonic stem cells on humans.

Menlo Park, Calif.-based Geron Corp., which developed the GRNOPC1 therapy, hopes to begin clinical testing on humans by the end of the year. Continue Reading »

Folate study shows promise in healing spinal cord injuries

A study funded by the U.S. Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, produced results that show the vitamin folate appears to promote healing in damaged rat spinal cord tissue by triggering a change in DNA. Findings of the study were published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Continue Reading »

Ensuring a patient received appropriate bowel care following spinal cord injury

Bowel care routines after spinal cord injury must be established and tailored to patients’ individual needs. Policies and procedures need to be regularly reviewed

This case study explores the problems that can occur when patients receive ineffective bowel care following spinal cord injury. It also investigates the implications of using anal irrigation for specialist and generalist nurses, education and audit. Continue Reading »

Improving Recovery From Spinal Cord Injury; Treated Rats Regain Limb Control

BALTIMORE, June 9 (AScribe Newswire) — Once damaged, nerves in the spinal cord normally cannot grow back and the only drug approved for treating these injuries does not enable nerve regrowth. Publishing online this week in the Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine show that treating injured rat spinal cords with an enzyme, sialidase, improves nerve regrowth, motor recovery and nervous system function. Continue Reading »