Category Archives: Spinal Cord Injury Treatment

A chemical in the brain may explain why some people become suicidal and it may link inflammation of the body to disorders of the mind. According to new research, suicidal individuals have elevated levels of quinolinic acid in the fluid surrounding the central nervous system. The discovery could explain a missing link between inflammation and mental illness, said study researcher Lena Brundin, a professor of molecular medicine at Michigan State University. Previously, scientists had linked suicidal feelings to the kind of bodily inflammation that occurs during illness or stress, but they weren't able to explain how inflammation could translate to depression, hopelessness and a desire to kill oneself. The new study of 100 Swedish patients finds that the higher the level of quinolinic acid in the spinal fluid, the stronger their desire to commit suicide. "The sicker the patient, the higher the quinolinic acid," Brundin told LiveScience. The roots of suicide There were nearly 37,000 suicide deaths in 2009 in the United States and 633,000 emergency room visits for self-inflicted injury, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Between 2000 and 2009, suicide surpassed car accidents as the No. 1 cause of injury-related deaths in the United … 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 Kenneth DiPietro, Executive Vice President Human Resources at Biogen Idec, has joined InVivos Board of Directors. DiPietro has also been appointed as Chair of the Boards Governance, Nominating and Compensation committee. InVivo has pioneered a new technology platform utilizing a variety of biocompatible polymer-based devices to provide structural support to a damaged spinal cord in order to spare tissue from scarring while improving functional recovery and prognosis after a traumatic spinal cord injury. Today there is no effective treatment for traumatic spinal cord injuries, and the market potential is estimated to exceed $10 billion. Mr. DiPietro brings 30 years of experience in the human resources field to InVivos Board. As a senior executive and respected global business leader, Mr. DiPietro is accomplished at linking human resources functional excellence to the achievement of corporate objectives. He has gained broad cultural transformation, organizational development and corporate re-engineering experience with several Global 500 companies including Biogen, Microsoft, and PepsiCo, Inc. We expect that 2013 will be a breakout year for InVivo and that the next … Continue reading →

Alan Brown had just wrapped up a fundraiser for his high school best friend, Danny Heumann, who had been paralyzed after he broke his back in a car accident. "We were 18 years old, ready to live life," said Brown, who became his friend's caregiver, staying by his side at New York City's Rusk Institute after the 1985 accident. But just six weeks after he had helped raise $25,000 for his friend's new foundation, Brown himself suffered a cruel twist of fate. He, too, was paralyzed after diving into the surf on a Club Med vacation in Martinique. It was Jan. 2, 1988, a bit more than two years after Heumann's accident. Brown said that he quite literally "saw the light" when he shattered his neck. The undertow threw him head-first against the ocean floor. "I heard it snap," he said. "I was under water two or three minutes holding my breath to survive. But I thought this was it." He never lost consciousness and remembered from his friend's accident not to be jostled, so he refused a ride in the bumpy ambulance until he could be airlifted to the hospital. En route, he said he quoted lines from the … 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 the Company has filed a request with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Humanitarian Use Device (HUD) designation for its biopolymer scaffolding product. InVivo is currently working with the FDA on the final steps to seek approval to begin a clinical trial of the scaffolding in acute SCI in early 2013. Devices eligible for HUD designation are developed to treat rare diseases or conditions. InVivo has requested designation for the use of its biopolymer scaffolding in the treatment of complete functional spinal cord injuries that do not involve penetrating injury or the complete severing of the spinal cord. The request comes after an April 2012 meeting in which InVivo and the FDA discussed the requirements for the HUD designation and the potential for the device to be regulated and distributed under a Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE). An HUD designation and a subsequent approved Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE) would enable InVivo to commercialize the devices in the United States faster than the Pre-Market (PMA) approval process. Said InVivo Director of Regulatory … Continue reading →

LAS VEGAS, Nev.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- During the scientific sessions at the 16th Annual NANS Conference, Dr. Liong Liem, Anesthesiologist at Sint Antonius Ziekenhuis in the Netherlands and member of the Neuromodulation Appropriateness Consensus Committee (NACC), presented on the 12-month results of the first clinical trials to evaluate the safety and performance for CE-Mark approval of the Spinal Modulation Axium SCS System. Dr. Timothy Deer, Director of the Center for Pain Relief in Charleston, West Virginia and President-Elect for the International Neuromodulation Society (INS), discussed the potential of the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) as a neuromodulation target for treating difficult post surgical neuropathies, amputation pain, and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) based on international clinical trial experience. In the United States alone, approximately 100 million people (30% of the population) suffer from pain and over 4 million of these people cope with chronic, neuropathic pain lasting longer than 6 months. Pain as a disease is crippling not only to patients but also society. Each year $635 billion are lost due to health care payments and lost wages (source: Neuroinsights, 2011, Frost and Sullivan). Long-Term Results In 2011, Dr. Liong Liem also presented on the initial results of the two prospective studies during … Continue reading →

The doctors at Pain Care are changing the lives of their patients who have failed traditional therapies and were left with little to no hope of a normal lifestyle, but who are now able to enjoy an active lifestyle due to a new procedure called Spinal Cord Stimulation. Stockbridge, GA (PRWEB) December 05, 2012 In addition to its many physiological benefits, SCS provides valuable alternatives to traditional narcotic therapies. Dr. Vincent Galan, the medical director at Pain Care who has practiced in the Atlanta area for over 25 years, explains: Long-term narcotic usage has been shown to produce harmful side-effects which can lessen a persons quality-of-life. For that reason, we tend to steer patients toward interventional procedures like SCS for their pain relief. Additionally, SCS has been effective in many of my patients who have tried narcotic therapy without any success. "This is truly a revolutionary procedure and it is virtually unknown to the general public" continues Dr. Galan. Who is a candidate for a SCS? Anyone who suffers from neuropathic pain or pain stemming from damaged nerves. Once a patient is approved for the procedure, we first perform a trial procedure or a test drive as many patients describe … Continue reading →

Lisa McKerracher, CEO and founder of BioAxone BioSciences, just opened a Cambridge research and development office and plans to hire 12 people by 2013. Wednesday, November 28, 2012 BioAxone BioSciences Inc., a small biotech that has a drug candidate aimed at helping regenerate spinal cord nerve pathways ready to begin pivotal trials, has opened its research and development headquarters in the Cambridge Innovation Center, and CEO Lisa McKerracher says she plans to hire 12 employees to staff the center by next year. BioAxone was founded by McKerracher last year in Florida, based on the technology - and with the same investors - as a Canada-based company of the same name which she founded in 2000. The Canadian company was a spinout from the University of Montreal, based on McKerrachers invention of a drug candidate called Cethrin, which she says will likely be the first drug to treat spinal cord injury to reach the market. Cethrin promotes axon regeneration and neuroprotection, and can also modify adverse immune reactions that follow spinal cord injury, according to McKerracher. Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) affects more than 12,000 Americans annually, and about 70 percent of patients suffer injuries to the cervical spinal cord, which … Continue reading →

Sciatica Steroid injections may offer only mild relief from pain in leg and lower back THE QUESTION When other treatments dont seem to ease the pain, people with leg and lower back pain from sciatica sometimes opt for an injection of steroids. How effective is this treatment, which involves injecting medication into the area around the spine known as the epidural space, which cushions the nerves and spinal cord? THIS STUDY analyzed data from 23 studies, involving 2,334 people with sciatica who had been randomly assigned to epidural injections with a corticosteroid (methylprednisolone, prednisone/prednisolone, triamcinolone or betamethasone) or a placebo. Compared with the placebo group, those who got steroid injections reported no difference in low-back pain but slightly less leg pain (six points lower, on average, on a 100-point standardized scale) and disability (three points lower) in the short term (two weeks to three months). After a year or more, virtually no difference was found between the steroid epidural and the placebo groups in leg or back pain or in disability. WHO MAY BE AFFECTED? People with sciatica, pain that usually starts in the lower back and radiates down into the thigh and leg, often accompanied by weakness, numbness or … Continue reading →

By Grant Bissell St. Charles, mo (KSDK) - Last month NewsChannel 5 brought you the story of Sterling Thomas, a football player at Lindenwood University who suffered a severe spinal cord injury. The courageous 18-year-old survived an on-field accident, but now faces a long rehabilitation. Now you can help Thomas and his family, just by grabbing a bite to eat. Students and teammates at Lindenwood have been hard at work selling bracelets and miniature jerseys to help raise money for Thomas. "It feels good, you know, it feels good emotionally and of course any money toward getting better is going to be perfect for the kid," said teammate Ben Gomez. So far, the Lindenwood community has raised more than $10,000. And the St. Louis Rams went a step further, donating more than $40,000. All of it will go toward Thomas' medical costs as he rehabs at Shepherd Center in Atlanta, a facility that specializes in spinal injury treatment. The football team is keeping Thomas' number 27 jersey close by as they prepare for this weekend's bowl game. "Our hearts are breaking for Sterling and his family and we want to do everything we can to play in his honor and … Continue reading →

(CNN)- Jasper, a Dachshund, became lame after an injury in 2008. With the aid of a pioneering treatment, Jasper went from being paralyzed to walking with the aid of a harness. Now, he runs on his own. Scientists at the University of Cambridge took the cells from Jasper's nose and injected them into his damaged spinal cord. Professor Nicolas Jeffery designed the study. "The cells we used, when they are in the nose usually help nerve fibers to grow from the nose into the brain," said Jeffery. Jasper is not the only one moving around the house again. The scientists said other dogs in the study regain limited use of their hind legs. The researchers do acknowledge that this procedure alone would not likely have any useful benefit to human spinal cord injury patients. Jeffrey said he believes it's a small step in the right direction. Copyright CNN 2012. All rights reserved. See original here: Study allows lame dog to walk again … Continue reading →