United Spinal has spent nearly $60 million on research into virtually all aspects of spinal cord medicine.
By Terry Moakley
In 1948, the Board of Directors of our founding group, Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association, voted to give the fledgling National Paraplegia Foundation (NPF) a loan of $5,000 toward research for a cure for spinal cord injury. Eventually, this loan was forgiven and the NPF became the National Spinal Cord Injury Association. That occasion, however, represents our first active involvement in Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) research.
Some 25 years later, this organization made the decision to conduct our own fund raising program. As our contributions from the public grew, so, too, did our research activities.
The shining star of our research efforts is the Center for Neuroscience and Regeneration Research at Yale University, which was built under an agreement among the VA, Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), the Yale University School of Medicine, and us. This center opened in 1987 and top-notch scientists there take advantage of the molecular revolution to determine exactly what happens at the time of an SCI or at the onset of MS, and then develop treatments for various aspects of these medical conditions. Discoveries made over the years at the Yale Center have contributed to improved treatments for manifestations of SCI/D.
A Second Front
In 1989, funding from United Spinal Association helped to launch a second major investigative facility-the Spinal Cord Damage Research Center at the James J. Peters VAMC in the Bronx. This research group looks at the impact of an SCI on other body systems. Scientists at SCDRC have made fundamental contributions to the understanding of pulmonary dysfunction, endocrinology and metabolism, cardiovascular disease, and body composition-to name a few areas-in persons with SCI.
Yet another research involvement of United Spinal is our long term support of the American Paraplegia Society, an organization of physicians who specialize in spinal cord medicine. Founded in 1954 by the pioneering doctors who espoused comprehensive care for persons with SCI, APS was revitalized by our group in the mid-1970s. Among its many activities, APS sponsors a “seed grant” program which both brings clinicians and researchers together, and enables SCI researchers to elevate their investigative skills.
The Bronx SCDRC is a fine example of this seed grant at work. In early 2005, this center was the recipient of a multi-year $12 million grant from the VA Cooperative Studies Program to investigate the use of anabolic steroid therapy in the healing of pressure ulcers in persons with SCI. Five years earlier, a much smaller study conducted under a seed grant inspired Drs. Bill Bauman (who delivered this year’s James J. Peters Memorial Lecture at the Triassociation conferences in Las Vegas) and Ann Spungen to seek the funding needed for a larger, more controlled research effort. Their hope-and ours-is to see long periods of immobility and bedrest for pressure ulcer healing greatly reduced.
United Spinal Association’s nearly $60 million in research investments over the years is pointing the way to a cure while improving quality of life today for all persons with SCI/D.
Terry Moakley, associate executive director of Public Affair, is United Spinal’s official historian.
