Category Archives: Spinal Cord Injury Treatment

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. (NVIV), a developer of groundbreaking technologies for the treatment of spinal cord injuries (SCI) and neurotrauma, today announced that CEO Frank Reynolds is scheduled to present at the 2012 Aegis Healthcare Conference to be held September 27-29, 2012 at The Wynn, Las Vegas. The Companys presentation will be on Friday, September 28th at 9:30 a.m. PDT (12:30 pm EDT). About InVivo Therapeutics InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. is utilizing polymers as a platform technology to develop treatments to improve function in individuals paralyzed from traumatic spinal cord injuries. The company was founded in 2005 based on proprietary technology co-invented by Robert S. Langer, ScD. Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Joseph P. Vacanti, M.D., who is affiliated with Massachusetts General Hospital. In 2011, the company earned the prestigious 2011 David F. Apple Award from the American Spinal Injury Association for its outstanding contribution to spinal cord injury medicine. The publicly traded company is headquartered in Cambridge, MA. For more details, visit http://www.invivotherapeutics.com. Safe Harbor Statement Certain statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 … Continue reading →

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. (NVIV), a developer of groundbreaking technologies for the treatment of spinal cord injuries (SCI) and neurotrauma, today announced the appointment of Bill D'Agostino as Senior Director of Manufacturing & Engineering. An executive leader focused on rapid market growth, Mr. D'Agostino joins InVivo following fifteen years at Covidien and, most recently, seven years at Angiotech Pharmaceuticals as Vice President, Engineering. In his career to date, Mr. DAgostino has launched more than 100 new polymer products including families of biodegradable sutures. Mr. D'Agostino is a seasoned professional in medical devices and pharmaceutical excelling in all aspects of Research & Development, Engineering, GMP Operations and Quality Assurance, and has a wealth of expertise on technologies such as hydrogels and biodegradable sutures. He has worked on every stage of the product life cycle including end-user requirements, risk management, feasibility, development, quality systems, design verification, pilot manufacturing, validations, regulatory approvals, clinical field testing, full manufacturing, product launch, marketing and post-market surveillance. Said InVivo CEO Frank Reynolds, Bill has a unique history and expertise in getting products to market. I am confident that his wide-ranging experience with all aspects of commercializing medical devices and with FDA submissions will play … Continue reading →

NEWARK, Calif., Sept. 27, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- StemCells, Inc. (STEM) today announced that the first patient with an incomplete spinal cord injury has been enrolled in the Company's Phase I/II clinical trial in chronic spinal cord injury and transplanted with the Company's proprietary HuCNS-SC(R) neural stem cells. The patient, a Canadian man who suffered a thoracic spinal cord injury from a sports-related accident, was administered the cells yesterday at Balgrist University Hospital, University of Zurich, a world leading medical center for spinal cord injury and rehabilitation. This is the first patient in the second cohort of the trial, which will be comprised of four patients who retain some sensory function below the level of trauma and are therefore considered to have an incomplete injury. "This is an important milestone for StemCells and the spinal cord injury community as it is the first time anyone has ever transplanted neural stem cells into a patient with an incomplete injury," said Stephen Huhn, MD, FACS, FAAP, Vice President and Head of the CNS Program at StemCells, Inc. "Given the encouraging interim data from the most severely injured patient cohort that we reported earlier this month, testing patients with less severe injury should … Continue reading →

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. (NVIV), a developer of groundbreaking technologies for the treatment of spinal cord injuries (SCI) and Neurotrauma, today hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for the companys new office, manufacturing and lab space at One Kendall Square, Building 1400 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Consolidating all of InVivos operations, the 21,000 square foot facility will serve as the new headquarters for the company. Speakers at the event included InVivo Therapeutics co-founder and CEO Frank Reynolds; Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President & CEO Susan Windham-Bannister, PhD; MassBio Director of Economic Development & Global Affairs Peter Abair; and Mike Ferriter, a founder and Board member of the Greater Boston Chapter of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association. InVivo Therapeutics received $500,000 in early-stage loan financing through the Massachusetts Life Sciences Centers Accelerator Program in 2009 when the company had six employees. The company has since raised $35 million in public financing and has grown to over thirty employees. The Life Sciences Center is the agency charged with implementing the states ten-year, $1 billion Life Sciences Initiative. InVivo is committed to developing and bringing new therapies to help individuals suffering from spinal cord injuries and other neurological conditions to the … Continue reading →

FRIDAY, Sept. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Explosions are the main cause of spine injuries among wounded U.S. military personnel, a new study finds. Researchers analyzed more than eight years of data on back, spinal column and spinal cord injuries suffered by American military personnel serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. Of nearly 11,000 evacuated casualties, about 600 (nearly 5.5 percent) had a total of more than 2,100 spinal injuries. Explosions accounted for 56 percent of spine injuries, motor vehicle collisions for 29 percent and gunshots for 15 percent, the study found. In 17 percent of spine injuries, the spinal cord also was injured. Fifty-three percent of gunshot wounds to the spine led to a spinal cord injury. The study also found that 92 percent of all injuries were fractures, 84 percent of patients' wounds were the result of combat and spinal injuries often were accompanied by abdomen, chest, head and face injuries. [See:No Wait at the ER] The findings, published Sept. 19 in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, are an important first step in helping orthopedic surgeons develop treatment plans for military personnel with spine injuries, as well as for civilians with similar injuries, according to the researchers. "In … Continue reading →

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. (NVIV), a developer of groundbreaking technologies for the treatment of spinal cord injuries (SCI) and neurotrauma, today appointed Brian Hess as Interim Chief Science Officer. Mr. Hess, a former Stryker biomaterials product development specialist, joined InVivo as its Director of Product Development in February 2012. As Director of Product Development, Mr. Hess is responsible for managing, developing and maintaining the pipeline for the entire portfolio of InVivo products. Mr. Hess replaces Edward Wirth, MD, PhD, who has resigned from his position as Chief Science Officer for personal reasons. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Hess spent the previous eight years at Stryker developing biomaterial technologies for the orthopedic market, and he has led multiple product development teams through the FDA process. Mr. Hess was instrumental in developing HydroSetTM, an injectable calcium phosphate based bone substitute, from concept to product launch. The product has become the market-leading bone scaffold, and Stryker awarded Mr. Hess and his team with Best Technology and Best Team Synergy for their work on this critical product. Mr. Hess also won several research and development awards during his tenure at Stryker. Most notably he was named "Co-Innovator of the Year" … Continue reading →

Rats once paralyzed from complete surgical cuts through their spinal cords can walk again after stem cells were transplanted into the site of the injury, report researchers today in the journal Cell. The results suggest that stem cells might work as a treatment for patients even if they have completely severed cords, a potential therapy that has been viewed skeptically by many in the field. Neural stem cells, derived from aborted fetal spinal cord tissue, were implanted onto each side of the spinal cord injury in the rats along with a supportive matrix and molecular growth factors. The human stem cells grew into the site of injury and extended delicate cellular projections called axons into the rats spinal cord, despite the known growth-inhibiting environment of the injured spinal cord. The rats' own neurons sent axons into the transplanted material and the rats were able to move all joints of their hind legs. The cells are produced by a Rockville, Maryland company called Neuralstem. The same cells are also being tested in ALS patients (see "New Cells for ALS Patients") where they have shown some promise of stabilizing the progressive disease. Last month, the company announced that it has asked to … Continue reading →

A spinal cord injury used to mean an undoubtedly bleak future for an athlete. But with widespread advances in care, patients such as Tulane's Devon Walker, who sustained a cervical spine fracture (broken neck) Saturday against Tulsa, have new hope of potential recovery. The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, co-founded byspinal cord injury victim Marc Buoniconti, his father and NFL Hall ofFame linebacker Nick, and Dr. Barth Green,is an organization that has devoted years to uncovering groundbreaking medical treatments for such spinal cord injuries. "It's a different picture than it was before," Green said. "When I was being trained at Northwestern, I was taught that no (paralyzed) patient would ever walk again. And we know that's not true. "It's very common to have a broken neck without paralysis. Those patients are paralyzed if the force is high enough to crush the spinal cord. Somewhere between 40 and 60 percentof those with complete paralysis (no movement or sensation below) won't walk again. Some will improve naturally, a 5 to 10 percent range ... and some will improve with advancements in research." On the cutting edge of that research is a hypothermia treatment in which a patient's spinal cord is cooled. The … Continue reading →

New relay circuits, formed across sites of complete spinal transaction, result in functional recovery in rats Newswise In a study at the University of California, San Diego and VA San Diego Healthcare, researchers were able to regenerate an astonishing degree of axonal growth at the site of severe spinal cord injury in rats. Their research revealed that early stage neurons have the ability to survive and extend axons to form new, functional neuronal relays across an injury site in the adult central nervous system (CNS). The study also proved that at least some types of adult CNS axons can overcome a normally inhibitory growth environment to grow over long distances. Importantly, stem cells across species exhibit these properties. The work will be published in the journal Cell on September 14. The scientists embedded neural stem cells in a matrix of fibrin (a protein key to blood clotting that is already used in human neuron procedures), mixed with growth factors to form a gel. The gel was then applied to the injury site in rats with completely severed spinal cords. Using this method, after six weeks, the number of axons emerging from the injury site exceeded by 200-fold what had ever … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (Sep. 13, 2012) In a study at the University of California, San Diego and VA San Diego Healthcare, researchers were able to regenerate "an astonishing degree" of axonal growth at the site of severe spinal cord injury in rats. Their research revealed that early stage neurons have the ability to survive and extend axons to form new, functional neuronal relays across an injury site in the adult central nervous system (CNS). The study also proved that at least some types of adult CNS axons can overcome a normally inhibitory growth environment to grow over long distances. Importantly, stem cells across species exhibit these properties. The work will be published in the journal Cell on Sept. 14. The scientists embedded neural stem cells in a matrix of fibrin (a protein key to blood clotting that is already used in human neuron procedures), mixed with growth factors to form a gel. The gel was then applied to the injury site in rats with completely severed spinal cords. "Using this method, after six weeks, the number of axons emerging from the injury site exceeded by 200-fold what had ever been seen before," said Mark Tuszynski, MD, PhD, professor in the UC San … Continue reading →