Category Archives: Spinal Cord Injury Treatment

MADAM Chu Sai Leong, 51, had lived with chronic pain in her legs and back for more than eight years. So, she was naturally sceptical when her doctor told her about a procedure to implant a spinal cord stimulator which acts like a pacemaker in the spine to reduce the pain. She had already had three operations to treat her spinal cord injury, but they had done nothing to relieve the pain. The first operation had also left her paralysed and wheelchair-bound with stabbing pains in her legs and back all day long, every day. The pain was so severe that she had difficulty sleeping. When it got so bad that she could not even get out of bed which was every two or three weeks she had to be hospitalised. Sleeping pills and pain relief medication did nothing for her. Mdm Chu was also unable to work as the pain kept her a virtual prisoner at home. Pacemaker to the rescue Two years ago, she decided to have the spinal cord stimulator implanted. She did not see much change immediately after the operation, but a few months later, she realised that the pain which had plagued her for years … Continue reading →

FAIRFIELD, Ill. Craig Scott, the pastor of First Christian Church in Fairfield, Ill., returned home Sunday after spending more than six months in rehabilitation for a severe spinal cord injury. The congregation was surprised when Scott appeared at Sunday evenings church service to greet church members for the first time since last June. A special lift was brought into the church to hoist his wheelchair onto the stage so he could address his congregants. Scott, 46, was accompanying a youth group on a mission trip to Puerto Rico when he was injured. He was with a group of kids at the beach on June 22 when he attempted to body surf and struck his head. He was taken first to a hospital in Puerto Rico and later transferred to a hospital in Miami, Fla. Eventually, he was moved to a hospital in Chicago where he has been for the past several weeks. While Scott has returned to his home in Fairfield, he must still undergo physical therapy at a rehabilitation facility in Evansville three times a week. He suffers from substantial paralysis on his right side and remains wheelchair bound. While he was away undergoing treatment for his injuries, church … Continue reading →

CALGARY- A Winnipeg paramedic has become the first Canadian to take part in an international clinical trial involving the treatment of spinal cord injuries using stem cells. Alex Petric was injured last year during a winter vacation in Panama. I misjudged the water and just dove in, the 29-year-old recalls. I hit shallow water and became paralyzed immediately. Petric, now a paraplegic, became involved with the trial just four months after his injury. Its a phase one trial which means that its looking at the safety and tolerability of the procedure, explains Dr. Steve Casha, medical team lead for the University of Calgary. A Swiss company, calledStem Cells Incorporatedis the driving force behind the research. A team in Switzerland has already treated eight other spinal cord patients. During the trial, researchers must first identify the precise location of Petrics spinal cord injury. Then, stem cells are injected into two sites above and two sites below the injury to hopefully recreate lost tissue. What these cells will hopefully do, and what they seem to do from previous clinical studies is take up residence in the spinal cord. They are a self-renewing population and they can differentiate or become various cells, Dr. … Continue reading →

By Duke Medicine News and Communications DURHAM, N.C. -- Researchers at Duke Medicine have shown that continuing spinal cord stimulation appears to produce improvements in symptoms of Parkinsons disease, and may protect critical neurons from injury or deterioration. The study, performed in rats, is published online Jan. 23, 2014, in the journal Scientific Reports. It builds on earlier findings from the Duke team that stimulating the spinal cord with electrical signals temporarily eased symptoms of the neurological disorder in rodents. Finding novel treatments that address both the symptoms and progressive nature of Parkinsons disease is a major priority, said the studys senior author Miguel Nicolelis, M.D., Ph.D., professor of neurobiology at Duke University School of Medicine.We need options that are safe, affordable, effective and can last a long time. Spinal cord stimulation has the potential to do this for people with Parkinsons disease. Parkinsons disease is caused by the progressive loss of neurons that produce dopamine, an essential molecule in the brain, and affects movement, muscle control and balance. L-dopa, the standard drug treatment for Parkinsons disease, works by replacing dopamine. While L-dopa helps many people, it can cause side effects and lose its effectiveness over time. Deep brain stimulation, … Continue reading →

Sleep apnea is common among spinal cord injury patients, a small new study suggests. The study of 26 people, published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, shows that 77 percent of people who have survived a spinal cord injury have sleep-disordered breathing. And nearly all the people in the study -- 92 percent -- reported poor sleep quality. "The majority of spinal cord injury survivors have symptomatic sleep-disordered breathing and poor sleep that may be missed if not carefully assessed," study researcher Dr. Abdulghani Sankari, a physician scientist at John D. Dingell VA Medical Center and Wayne State University School of Medicine, said in a statement. "Our findings help in identifying the mechanism of sleep-disordered breathing in spinal cord injury and may provide potential targets for new treatment." The study included 15 people with cervical injury and 11 people with thoracic injury, which all led to chronic spinal cord injury. Researchers found that there were experiences of both obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea among the patients, with central sleep apnea being more common among those with the cervical injury. Obstructive sleep apnea is typically more common in the general population, and occurs when the airway is blocked … Continue reading →

More than 400 Edmontonians dropped in for a free movie and popcorn served with a side of neuroscience at the Garneau Theatre on Thursday, Jan. 16. Its a perfect geek date, said Danica Wolkow, a provincial co-ordinator with Alberta Innovates Health Solutions in charge of organizing Science in the Cinema, an initiative that uses film to get the public engaged in science. Thursdays screening played the popular French film The Intouchables, directed by Oliver Nakache and Eric Toledano, where an aristocrat who became quadriplegic after a paragliding accident finds a renewed sense of life after injury thanks to an unlikely caretaker from the projects. Hosted by Karim Fouad, a professor with the University of Albertas faculty of Rehabilitative Medicine, the film served as an uplifting tale of thriving after a spinal cord injury, as medical science has little to offer yet in the way of rehabilitation. We are still very limited in what we can do for a patient like this, said Fouad, who emphasized that while research is progressing, there is no magic bullet for patients paralyzed by spinal cord injury. The U of A is home to North Americas only free-standing faculty of Rehabilitative Medicine and has received … Continue reading →

Jan. 15, 2014 A new study suggests that patients with spinal cord injuries could benefit from careful assessment for sleep apnea. Results show that 77 percent of spinal cord injury survivors had symptomatic sleep-disordered breathing, and 92 percent had poor sleep quality. The study also found that the nature of sleep-disordered breathing in patients with spinal cord injury is complex, with a high occurrence of both obstructive and central sleep apnea events. The occurrence of central sleep apnea, which requires special consideration in diagnosis and treatment, was more common in patients with a cervical injury than in those with a thoracic injury. "The majority of spinal cord injury survivors have symptomatic sleep-disordered breathing and poor sleep that may be missed if not carefully assessed," said principal investigator and lead author Dr. Abdulghani Sankari, physician scientist at John D. Dingell VA Medical Center and Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Mich. "Our findings help in identifying the mechanism of sleep-disordered breathing in spinal cord injury and may provide potential targets for new treatment." The study results appear in the Jan. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, which is published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. … Continue reading →

Seeking to complement and extend its own progress and continued focus on RNAi therapeutics, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALNY: Quote) has acquired Merck & Co. Inc.'s (MRK) subsidiary Sirna Therapeutics Inc. for an upfront payment of $175 million in cash and equity. The deal also entitles Merck to receive up to $105 million in developmental and sales milestone payments per product, as well as single-digit royalties, associated with the progress of certain pre-clinical candidates discovered by Merck and up to $10 million in milestone payments and single-digit royalties on Alnylam products covered by Sirna Therapeutics' patent estate. ALNY closed Friday's trading at $66.27, up 2.13%. Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CBST: Quote) has submitted a Clinical Trial Application to the Dutch Competent Authority and Ethics Committee to initiate a first-in-human study of CB-618, a broad-spectrum beta-lactamase inhibitor to combat antibiotic resistence, in the Netherlands. If approved by the Dutch Competent Authority and Ethics Committee, Cubist plans to conduct the proposed initial study during the first half of 2014. CBST closed Friday's trading at $70.01, up 0.04%. MannKind Corp.'s (MNKD: Quote) resubmitted New Drug Application for AFREZZA with an indication to improve glycemic control in adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes is … Continue reading →

Ryan White, CTV Calgary Published Friday, January 10, 2014 3:37PM MST Last Updated Friday, January 10, 2014 7:10PM MST Alex Petric is hoping his part in an international clinical trial at the Foothills Hospital will assist researchers in the development of a treatment for spinal cord injuries. Alex, a paramedic from Winnipeg, was paralyzed during a winter holiday in Panama with his girlfriend. The 28-year-old dove headfirst into what he believed to be deep water. Immediately I felt paralyzed, right when I came up, recollects Alex. You just know youre in a lot of trouble. Youre trying your hardest to move your legs and its not happening. Ten months after the accident, 29-year-old Alex is taking part in a medical trial to determine the safety of stem cell therapy on patients with spinal cord injuries. While the trial, conducted by researchers from the University of Calgary, focuses on safety, the ultimate goal is to develop a cure for spinal cord injuries which could require multiple therapies. The medical team, led by Dr. Steve Casha, will make a small incision in order to view Alexs injury. Once the precise location of the injury has been determined, then stem cells are injected … Continue reading →

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- The development of a long-term health care plan is an undertaking that for many seems daunting. Particularly in cases where one has received a catastrophic injury, piecing together the various components of a well-developed care plan is a process that requires extensive time andexpert input. Catastrophic injuries include severe injuries to the brain,spine, or spinal cord. These typically leave patients with a loss of functioning in one or more areas of the body, requiring not only immediate treatment for pain and other symptoms, but also intense rehabilitative therapy over the course of weeks, months, or years. Injury Response The consequences of injuries can be extensive and wide ranging. Injuries have physical, emotional, and financial consequences that can impact the lives of individuals, their families, and society. Some injuries can result in temporary or long-term disability. For more information about injury response, please visit http://www.cdc.gov/injuryresponse/. Acute Injury Care The care of the acutely injured is a public health issue that involves bystanders and community members, health care professionals, and health care systems. For more information about acute injury care, please visit http://www.cdc.gov/injuryresponse/acute_injury.html A life care plan that addresses the complexities of a catastrophic or … Continue reading →