Category Archives: Spinal Cord Injury Treatment

This story was corrected on Jan. 15, 2013. An explanation follows the story. Physicians, researchers, patients and their advocates in the spinal injury field are keeping a close eye on Rockville biotech Neuralstem as it prepares to launch a Phase 1 safety trial of its stem cell treatment for chronic spinal cord injury. The Food and Drug Administration approved the trial Monday. Neuralstem plans to conduct the study on eight patients who are completely paralyzed at or below their spinal cord injuries. Its important that people understand this is very different from other methods that have gone on before, CEO Richard Garr said. This is the real deal. We have compelling data. Cells are surviving, grafting and doing what we would expect they would do. The FDA go-ahead follows Neuralstems report in October that rats given the stem cell product, NSI-566, seven days after suffering an ischemic stroke showed improvement in motor and neurological tests. Should this prove to be successful, it will allow for some regeneration of human spinal cord cells and for people to regain function. It will be an incredible breakthrough, with huge implications for the health care market, said Paul Tobin, president and CEO of the … Continue reading →

ROCKVILLE, Md., Jan. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --Neuralstem, Inc. (NYSE MKT: CUR) announced that it received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to commence a Phase I safety trial of its lead cell therapy candidate, NSI-566, in chronic spinal cord injury patients. This open-label, multi-site study, will enroll up to eight patients with thoracic spinal cord injuries (T2-T12), who have an American Spinal Injury Association (AIS) A level of impairment, between one and two years after injury. AIS A impairment refers to a patient with no motor or sensory function in the relevant segments at and below the injury, and is considered to be complete paralysis. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20061221/DCTH007LOGO) The primary objective of the study is to determine the safety and toxicity of human spinal stem cell transplantation for the treatment of paralysis and related symptoms due to chronic spinal cord injury (SCI). The secondary objectives of the study are to evaluate graft survival in the transplant site by MRI, as well as the effectiveness of transient immunosuppression. Additionally, the study will look at exploratory objectives to evaluate the ability of human spinal cord stem cell (HSSC) transplantation to positively affect AIS level, ISNC SCI motor and sensory … Continue reading →

Millions of people around the world suffer from severe spinal cord injuries that result in permanent loss of control of their arms or legs, or loss of bladder, bowel or sexual functions. Now, US researchers have developed an oral medication that offers hope that some of these lost functions could be regained. When given to laboratory mice shortly after a spinal cord injury, the drug restored the animals' mobility. The experimental drug, called LM11A-31, works by blocking the release of a protein that after spinal cord injuries destroys oligodendrocytes, which are nerve cells that surround and protect axons. Axons are the long, thread-like nerve-cell projections that help transmit motor impulses between the brain and the rest of the body. In experiments with mice with crippling spinal cord injuries similar to those seen in humans, the drug overcame a major hurdle in conventional therapies. The compound easily crossed the blood-brain barrier - the natural partition that protects the brain from potentially harmful foreign substances in the bloodstream - and prevented the normal post-injury die-off of oligodendrocytes. Sung Ok Yoon, a molecular biologist at Ohio State University Columbus, led the study. Four hours after the mice were injured, Yoon said, researchers began … Continue reading →

BACKGROUND: Damage to any part of the spinal cord or nerves surrounding the spinal canal usually causes permanent changes in body functions below the site of injury. A traumatic spinal cord injury can come from traumatic blows to the spine that can dislocate, fracture, compress, or crush the vertebrae. Common causes of a spinal cord injury are falls, acts of violence, alcohol, motor vehicle accidents, and sport injuries. Additional damage can come from bleeding, inflammation, swelling, and fluid accumulation around the spinal cord that has gone untreated. A non-traumatic spinal cord injury is caused by cancer, arthritis, infections, inflammation, or disc degeneration of the spine. Researchers around the world have high hopes that advances in research will someday make the repair of spinal cord injuries possible. (Source: webmd.com) TYPES/SIGNS: The ability to control the limbs after a spinal cord injury depends on two things: the place of the injury along the spinal cord and the severity. The lowest part of the spinal cord is referred to as the neurological level of the injury. The severity is classified as either complete or incomplete. A complete injury is when almost all sensory and ability to control movement are lost below the spinal … Continue reading →

Public release date: 8-Jan-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Sung Ok Yoon Sung.Yoon@osumc.edu 614-292-8542 Ohio State University COLUMBUS, Ohio An experimental oral drug given to mice after a spinal cord injury was effective at improving limb movement after the injury, a new study shows. The compound efficiently crossed the blood-brain barrier, did not increase pain and showed no toxic effects to the animals. "This is a first to have a drug that can be taken orally to produce functional improvement with no toxicity in a rodent model," said Sung Ok Yoon, associate professor of molecular & cellular biochemistry at Ohio State University and lead author of the study. "So far, in the spinal cord injury field with rodent models, effective treatments have included more than one therapy, often involving invasive means. Here, with a single agent, we were able to obtain functional improvement." The small molecule in this study was tested for its ability to prevent the death of cells called oligodendrocytes. These cells surround and protect axons, long projections of a nerve cell, by wrapping them in myelin. In addition to functioning as axon insulation, myelin allows for the rapid transmission of signals between nerve cells. The … Continue reading →

Washington, January 9 (ANI): An experimental drug administered orally to mice after a spinal cord injury has proven effective when improving limb movement after an injury, a new study shows. The compound efficiently crossed the blood-brain barrier, did not increase pain and showed no toxic effects to the animals. "This is a first to have a drug that can be taken orally to produce functional improvement with no toxicity in a rodent model," said Sung Ok Yoon, associate professor of molecular and cellular biochemistry at Ohio State University and lead author of the study. "So far, in the spinal cord injury field with rodent models, effective treatments have included more than one therapy, often involving invasive means. Here, with a single agent, we were able to obtain functional improvement." The small molecule in this study was tested for its ability to prevent the death of cells called oligodendrocytes. These cells surround and protect axons, long projections of a nerve cell, by wrapping them in myelin. In addition to functioning as axon insulation, myelin allows for the rapid transmission of signals between nerve cells. The drug preserved oligodendrocytes by inhibiting the activation of a protein called p75. Yoon's lab previously discovered … Continue reading →

Jan. 8, 2013 An experimental oral drug given to mice after a spinal cord injury was effective at improving limb movement after the injury, a new study shows. The compound efficiently crossed the blood-brain barrier, did not increase pain and showed no toxic effects to the animals. "This is a first to have a drug that can be taken orally to produce functional improvement with no toxicity in a rodent model," said Sung Ok Yoon, associate professor of molecular & cellular biochemistry at Ohio State University and lead author of the study. "So far, in the spinal cord injury field with rodent models, effective treatments have included more than one therapy, often involving invasive means. Here, with a single agent, we were able to obtain functional improvement." The small molecule in this study was tested for its ability to prevent the death of cells called oligodendrocytes. These cells surround and protect axons, long projections of a nerve cell, by wrapping them in myelin. In addition to functioning as axon insulation, myelin allows for the rapid transmission of signals between nerve cells. The drug preserved oligodendrocytes by inhibiting the activation of a protein called p75. Yoon's lab previously discovered that p75 … Continue reading →

The right-arm fast bowler, who was ruled out of the national team for Australia tour last year following recurrence of a back injury, said he is undergoing treatment at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore and expressed satisfaction over his health improvement. Jamshedpur: Speedster Varun Aaron, who suffered a back injury during the home seies against the West Indies in December 2011, expressed confidence that he would be back in action in the next couple of months. "I am recovering well and expecting to go back to the field in two to three months time," said the young talent, who visited the ongoing practice session of his home side Jharkhand ahead of their knock-out match against Punjab here. The right-arm fast bowler, who was ruled out of the national team for Australia tour last year following recurrence of a back injury, said he is undergoing treatment at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore and expressed satisfaction over his health improvement. The 23-year-old player, who last played an international game in December against West Indies in Visakhapatnam, returned to competitive cricket during the Indian Premier League last year. He played eight games for Delhi Daredevils and picked up as … 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 other neurotrauma conditions, today announced that Chief Executive Officer Frank Reynolds will present recent updates to potential investors during Biotech Showcase 2013. The annual conference is scheduled for January 7-9th at the Parc 55 Wyndham in San Francisco. Reynolds is scheduled to participate in a panel titled Spinal Cord Injury: Investment Opportunities and Challenges in an Area With Unmet Medical Needs on Wednesday, January 9th at 8:00am PST. The panel will be followed by a corporate presentation given by Reynolds at 10:30am PST. A live webcast and webcast replay will be available at http://www.media-server.com/m/p/gy96bo3m. In addition, Reynolds, along with InVivos Director of Finance, Sean Moran, and Director of Investor Relations, Brian Luque, will be available throughout the event for one-on-one meetings with investors by appointment only. To schedule a meeting, registered attendees can submit a meeting request through the conference website (www.ebdgroup.com/bts). The Biotech Showcase is a forum devoted to enabling private and public life sciences and biotechnology companies the opportunity to present to an audience of investors and pharmaceutical executives. Now in its fifth year, this rapidly … Continue reading →

Jan. 3, 2013 More than half of traumatic spinal cord injuries (SCI) in humans are cervical lesions, resulting in chronic loss of limb function. A better understanding of the link between the neurologic damage caused by SCI, spontaneous motor function recovery, and long-term motor deficits would lead to better therapeutic approaches, as discussed in an article in Journal of Neurotrauma. About 70% of human traumatic SCIs are incomplete, but the destruction of critical nerve fibers disrupts the signals normally sent between the brain and spinal cord beyond the site of the injury, resulting in locomotor impairment and paralysis. Elisa Lpez-Dolado, Ana Lucas-Osma, and Jorge Collazos-Castro, Hospital Nacional de Parapljicos Finca La Peraleda, Toledo, Spain, simulated a C6 partial SCI in adult rats and analyzed their recovery of motor function over four months. The authors report extensive kinetic, anatomical, and electrophysiological data that demonstrate how the animals compensate for the permanent loss of some motor function. In the article "Dynamic Motor Compensations with Permanent, Focal Loss of Forelimb Force after Cervical Spinal Cord Injury," they propose that a premotoneuronal system in the cervical spine may be involved in the production and chronic nature of limb impairment, which could have important implications … Continue reading →