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 »

Paraplegic Man Stands, Steps with Assistance, Moves His Legs Voluntarily

Regimen of Epidural Spinal Cord Stimulation, Plus Extensive Locomotor Training, A Significant Breakthrough

A team of scientists at the University of Louisville, UCLA and the California Institute of Technology has achieved a significant breakthrough in its initial work with a paralyzed male volunteer at Louisville’s Frazier Rehab Institute. It is the result of 30 years of research to find potential clinical therapies for paralysis. Continue Reading »

Lumbar Body Fusion Changes The Life Of Young Girl

Dr. Richard A. Kaul, MD of New Jersey Spine and Rehabilitation performed a life changing surgery for a 16 year old Long Valley, NJ resident. Amanda Mrasz had been suffering for years from debilitating spinal pain that radiated into her back and legs. She found it difficult to walk or stand up and often the pain was so severe that she was unable to get out of bed. Continue Reading »

Severely injured Miami gymnast walks out of hospital after treatment

A UM/Jackson neurosurgeon uses hypothermic treatment on 20-year-old gymnast with a spinal cord injury

MIAMI-DADE — A double flip gone wrong last week sent a 20-year-old Miami state champion gymnast to Jackson Memorial Hospital. Jorge Valdez had attempted the double flip at a gym near The Falls in South Miami-Dade while practicing for tryouts for a Las Vegas Cirque du Soleil production. During his routine, he landed squarely on his head.

The resulting spinal cord injury – bilateral dislocation of two vertebrae – led to near-complete motor and sensory failure, doctors said; Valdez had no movement in his legs or hands, and minimal arm movement. Initially, doctors were not sure if he would walk again, let alone return to gymnastics.

On Thursday, Valdez walked out of the hospital, ready to resume practice. Also remarkable, he won’t need rehabilitation, his doctors say. Continue Reading »

Quadriplegic Donkey Walks Again with Adult Stem Cells

Eli the donkey provides another example from the animal world of the success of adult stem cells. On May 13, 2010 Eli was attacked by a stablemate twice his size. The trauma led to swelling of his spinal cord, and rapid progression of weakness in his front end and hindquarters. The veterinarians treating Eli also got the opinion of Dr. Mike Kistler of Cortez, Colorado, a senior member of the American Society of Neuroradiology with more than 25 years of experience in human spinal trauma. 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 »

Study Seeks New Way to Enhance Neuron Repair in Spinal Cord Injury

Newswise — If researchers could determine how to send signals to cells responding to a spinal cord injury, they might be able to stop one type of cell from doing additional damage at the injury site and instead, coax it into helping nerve cells grow. Continue Reading »

Quadriplegic donkey walks again Stem cells aid recovery from spinal-cord injury

Eli the donkey’s recovery from incomplete quadriplegia could be the most important breakthrough in traumatic spinal-cord injuries and for the stem-cell treatment that restored his mobility—a breakthrough that could impact not only equids but all mammals, including humans.

Quadriplegia is considered incomplete if there is lack of mobility yet some sensory or motor function below the affected area.

On May 13, little Eli was inexplicably savaged by his longtime companion Watson, a jack nearly twice his size. Continue Reading »

StemCells plans chronic spinal cord injury trial

(Reuters) – StemCells Inc has filed for Swiss regulatory approval for the first clinical trial of its nerve stem cells in patients with spinal cord injuries as much as a year old, the company said.

It expects to enroll about a dozen patients whose injuries are between three and 12 months old.

“To date, the focus has been on the acute spinal cord injury phase,” StemCells CEO Martin McGlynn said in a telephone interview. “That’s an important area to address, but the largest unmet need is those who have passed that immediate acute phase of injury.” Continue Reading »

Extensive Natural Recovery Seen After Spinal Cord Injury

Newswise — A study led by researchers in the Department of Neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine shows unexpected and extensive natural recovery after spinal cord injury in primates. The findings, to be published November 14 in the advance online edition of Nature Neuroscience, may one day lead to the development of new treatments for patients with spinal cord injuries.

While regeneration after severe brain and spinal cord injury is limited, milder injuries are often followed by good functional recovery. Continue Reading »