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Research Breakthrough Suggests New Treatment for Spinal Cord Injuries
In a multidisciplinary investigation led by Inderjit Singh, PhD, a breakthrough has been made in relation to the treatment of spinal cord injuries (SCI). Set for publication in the April issue of the Journal of Neurochemistry (101, 182-200), the study investigates the efficacy of atorvastatin (AT), commonly known as Lipitor®, as a treatment for SCI following trauma.
The report demonstrates, for the first time, that by using AT in treating SCI after they have occurred, animal models with hind-limb paralysis showed significant functional recovery and less secondary tissue damage. Importantly, scientists discovered that AT [...]
By Ed Lash
Multiple sclerosis (MS) poses many baffling questions. For example, why is it that some people with MS are affected by heat to such a great degree that they will be in a state of fatigue from the normal slight rise in body temperature which occurs in all of us each afternoon, while others with MS are not inconvenienced by this or other heat situations at all?
Electric Switch Could Turn on Limb Regeneration
Tadpoles can achieve something that humans may only dream of: pull off a tadpole’s thick tail or a tiny developing leg, and it’ll grow right back-spinal cord, muscles, blood vessels and all. Now researchers have discovered the key regulator of the electrical signal that convinces Xenopus pollywogs to regenerate amputated tails. The results, reported last November in Gene and Development, give some researchers hope for new approaches to stimulating tissue regeneration in humans.
An MS Fellow explains how she benefited as a physiatrist from a program sponsored by United Spinal Association.
By Seema R. Khurana, DO
While trying to determine what my next step in life would be after residency, Dr. George Kraft was invited to speak at the University of Michigan. During his lecture he discussed multiple sclerosis (MS) and the important role rehabilitation plays in its treatment. As I listened to him, I began to see the significance of that area of rehabilitation medicine. It was at that time that I decided to pursue it further. Soon after his talk, I interviewed at [...]
In this issue of Action, we focus on the advances in pharmaceutical research that improve our quality of life. One undeniable obstacle faced by many of our members is affordable access to these life-altering medications.
For instance, a prominent physician from a world-class rehabilitation center recently contacted me to express his concern that Ditropan (Oxybutynin), a commonly prescribed medication for spasticity of the bladder and the urinary tract, was being limited for his patients under Medicare Part D policies to 5 milligrams, three times per day-the common dose for the average user. For many of us with neurogenic bladder problems, however, effective [...]
Now that research has shown its positive effect on neuropathic pain and even spasticity, some people with spinal cord disorders are joining the fight to legalize medical cannabis.
Julie Falco (Photo by Paul Meredith)
By Lori A. Wood
Proponents of medicinal marijuana have credited it with the alleviation of everything from chemotherapy- induced nausea to glaucoma. Could the muscle spasticity and neuropathic pain common to certain spinal cord disorders (SCDs) someday be added to that list? According to researchers, it’s possible.
At the University of California in San Diego, the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (www.cmcr.ucsd.edu) is funding studies to [...]
A California biotech company hopes to boost the immune system without side-effects.
by Rob Ingraham
Descriptions of the body’s built-in defenses against disease—our immune system—abound in military terms. For example, a recent article in Scientific American entitled “Peacekeepers of the Immune System” described multiple sclerosis (MS), insulin- dependent diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis as the work of “renegade” white blood cells known as T- cells. “Normal versions of these cells serve as officers in the immune system’s armed forces, responsible for unleashing the system’s combat troops against disease-causing microorganisms.” (Fehervari & Sakaguchi, October 2006).
Targeting these renegade T-cells in the war against relapsing-remitting [...]
Research progresses, slowly, into the causes of and treatments for neuropathic post-SCI pain.
By Alan Krawitz
In life, there are various types of pain that run the gamut from minor inconvenience to disabling. And then, almost in a class by itself, is neuropathic pain, a severe, crippling type of pain that many people with spinal cord injuries often experience. Unfortunately, all pain is not created equal. In fact, the latest research says that more than half of all people with nerve and spinal cord damage experience damage to nerve fibers, which results in neuropathic pain.
“Many have described neuropathic pain as being, [...]
By Tom Scott
Skin damage is a common secondary condition that many individuals with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D) encounter. This damage is usually caused by pressure sores, also referred to as pressure ulcers, ischemic ulcers, decubitis ulcers, or bed sores. Pressure sores occur when an excessive amount of pressure is placed on an area of skin for long periods of time (i.e, sitting or lying down) resulting in the loss of blood flow and the eventual death of the skin and underlying tissue. They can also occur from friction or shearing, meaning your skin moves one way and the bone [...]
United Nations Adopts Treaty on the Rights of People with Disabilities
In December 2006, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a treaty on the rights of persons with disabilities. The treaty’s provisions detail the rights of persons with disabilities covering civil and political rights, accessibility, participation and inclusion, education, health, employment and social protections.
United Nation’s Secretary General, Koffi Annan stated that with the passage of this treaty, “There promises to be a dawn of a new era for the 650 million people around the world living with disabilities.” Secretary General Annan went on to say that, “It was the community [...]
Participants Needed: Blood Pressure and Flow in Tetraplegia Study
Principle Investigator Jill M. Wecht, EdD, and her team at the Spinal Cord Damage Research Center at the James J. Peters VAMC in the Bronx will be conducting research on how blood pressure and flow in individuals with tetraplegia are controlled during head-up tilt on a tilt table.
The study, which will take place over three days, focuses on blood pressure and blood flow with and without a medication to lower blood pressure (Vasotec). Researchers will measure the participants’ blood pressure and blood flow while they rest on a tilt-table in a very [...]
We’re in the midst of a sexual revolution for people with spinal cord injuries and disorders.
By Kelly Rouba
The very thought of Valentine’s Day and the images of intimacy that come along with it might have unnerved most individuals with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D) more than a decade ago. But, since then, medical researchers have continued to make tremendous strides-enabling greater sexual intimacy and, quite possibly, making the coming holiday the most pleasurable one yet for lovers with disabilities.
“Over the past ten years, things have improved a lot,” said Dr. Graham Creasey, a principal investigator at the Cleveland [...]
Attitude is rated most important in determining health-related quality of life for adolescents with spina bifida.
By Rob Ingraham
While a positive attitude has always been considered an important factor in successfully adapting to a disability, researchers have begun to prove these assumptions in scientific studies.
Researchers in Wisconsin and Indiana recently examined health-related quality of life (HRQOL) issues for young people and adolescents with spina bifida and concluded that adolescent beliefs, rather than any characteristic of the condition itself, are most associated with HRQOL outcomes.
HRQOL was defined as a person’s perception of their well-being-their emotional, physical, or social status that [...]
Congress Passes Bill to Expand Respite Care Services
Thanks to the hard work of advocates across the country, Congress recently approved legislation that would provide help to the nearly 50 million caregivers nationwide. The Lifespan Respite Care Act of 2005 (H.R. 3248/S.1283) was passed by the House on December 6 and by the Senate on December 8, 2006. This bill, which the President is expected to sign, authorizes $289 million for grants to help build accessible, community-based respite care services. This includes funding for developing state and local respite programs, training and recruiting respite care workers and volunteers, and providing information [...]
Survivors of Childhood Polio Do Well Decades Later As They Age
Mayo Clinic researchers have found that years after experiencing childhood polio, most survivors do not experience declines greater than expected in their elderly counterparts, but rather experience only modest increased weakness which may be commensurate with normal aging.
“Other researchers have suggested that polio is a more aggressive condition later in life, but we’ve actually found it to be relatively benign,” said Eric Sorenson, MD, Mayo Clinic neurologist and lead study researcher. “Our results suggest that polio survivors may not age any differently than those in the normal population— they’re not [...]
Missouri Stem Cell Victory
Missouri voters approved the Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative on Election Day, making it a new Missouri State Constitutional Amendment. The amendment protects equal access to any federally approved stem cell research treatments while banning human cloning. It essentially prevents the Missouri Legislature from passing a law that is more restrictive than federal stem cell policy. United Spinal, along with more than 100 patient and medical groups, is a member of the nonpartisan coalition that initiated and promoted this stem cell initiative.
The federal government will only fund embryonic stem cell using research stem cell lines [...]
Universities to Study Wheelchair Transportation Safety
The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) and three other university partners have been awarded a $4.5 million five-year federal grant to continue research on transportation safety and usability for people in wheelchairs.
The U.S. Department of Education’s National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research has renewed funding of the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Wheelchair Transportation Safety (RERC WTS), a partnership headed by UMTRI that also includes the universities of Pittsburgh, Louisville and Colorado.
The partnership was originally formed in 2001 to advance the safety, usability and independence of the large proportion of 1.7 million wheelchair [...]
The Effects of Fampridine-SR on Walking in People with MS
Acorda Therapeutics, Inc., recently announced positive results from its Phase 3 clinical trial of Fampridine-SR on walking in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Statistical significance was achieved on all three efficacy criteria defined in the Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A significantly greater proportion of people taking Fampridine-SR had a consistent improvement in walking speed, the study’s primary outcome, compared to people taking placebo (34.8% vs. 8.3%) as measured by the Timed 25-Foot Walk. In addition, the effect was maintained in this study throughout the 14-week [...]
Even as war has resulted in millions of spinal cord injuries, the doctors who have tended to them on the field have contributed to vastly improved care for all people with SCI.
By Tom Scott
The mortality rate of U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan is significantly lower compared to previous wars. During World War II, 30% of US soldiers died from wounds received in combat and 24% of US soldiers died in Vietnam. In Iraq and Afghanistan mortality has dropped to approximately 10%. Advancements in field medicine have saved thousands of lives. Stronger body armor and the utilization of heavily [...]
I write this column upon returning from Las Vegas, where nearly 1,000 physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, physical therapists, and occupational therapists treating persons with spinal cord injury or disease (SCI/D) attended an educational conference sponsored and coordinated by United Spinal Association. Although our organization has spent more than $27 million sponsoring this major educational effort over the last 20+ years, this was the first time I attended in an official capacity.
I commend the leadership of the American Paraplegia Society, the American Association of Spinal Cord Injury Nurses, and the American Association of Spinal Cord Injury Psychologists and Social Workers (Indira Lanig, [...]
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