Paralysis News and Research

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Paralysis is the loss of muscle function in part of your body. It happens when something goes wrong with the way messages pass between your brain and muscles. Paralysis can be complete or partial. It can occur on one or both sides of your body. It can also occur in just one area, or it can be widespread. Paralysis of the lower half of your body, including both legs, is called paraplegia. Paralysis of the arms and legs is quadriplegia.

FDA-approved drug encourages sensory neurons to regrow after injury

A spinal cord injury damages the lines of communication between the body and brain, impeding the signals that drive movement and sensation.

18 Oct 2021

Wiggling worms offer new clues into the potential impact of diet on Alzheimer's

Worms don't wiggle when they have Alzheimer's disease. Yet something helped worms with the disease hold onto their wiggle in Professor Jessica Tanis's lab at the University of Delaware.

29 Sep 2021

Novel optogenetic implant controls activity of neurons in the spinal cord

Grégoire Courtine doesn't hesitate to use the word "revolutionary" when describing the emerging field of optogenetics – a technology that uses pulses of light to control individual neural activity – and what it could mean for neuroscience. Courtine, director of the NeuroRestore research center (with neurosurgeon Jocelyne Bloch), is currently developing an optogenetic implant together with Stéphanie Lacour, who holds the Bertarelli Foundation Chair in Neuroprosthetic Technology.

28 Sep 2021

SARS-CoV-2 infection may prompt Guillain-Barré syndrome

A new paper in Brain, published by Oxford University Press, indicates that a COVID-19 infection may prompt Guillain-Barré syndrome.

23 Sep 2021

No papers, no care: Disabled migrants seek help through lawsuit, activism

Desperation led José Luis Hernández to ride atop a speeding train through northern Mexico with hopes of reaching the United States 13 years ago.

16 Sep 2021

Analysis of the immune landscape in mild-to-moderate COVID-19

A new study includes an analysis of plasma cytokine levels, peripheral blood immune cell composition, and SARS-CoV-2 specific Igs in COVID-19.

15 Sep 2021

FB-EVAR is safe and effective for treatment of aortic aneurysms, study shows

A recent study revealed that endovascular repair of complex aortic aneurysms using fenestrated and branched endografts provides a safe and effective alternative to open surgical repair, with the lowest ever reported mortality rate in this patient population, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and Memorial Hermann Heart and Vascular Institute Aortic Center.

10 Sep 2021

UC San Diego receives $12.25 million NIH grant to improve epilepsy treatment

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a $12.25 million grant to the University of California San Diego to develop and enhance brain-sensing and brain-stimulating platform technologies to enable treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy.

10 Sep 2021

“Batman Sam” fights cancer with care from Johns Hopkins Children’s Center

"What the heck is happening?" recalls Melissa Southward, the mother of now-three-year-old Sam, when he started having nose bleeds and developed a yellowish skin color in August 2020.

8 Sep 2021

Study sheds light on neurologic symptoms caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection

Researchers in Australia and Finland have provided important insights into how infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) – might affect nervous system circuitries and cause neurologic symptoms.

6 Sep 2021

COVID-19 associated mucormycosis cases in India

India continues to grapple with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). To date, the country has reported over one million new cases for the past 28 days.

31 Aug 2021

Exoskeleton-assisted rehabilitation can help treat stroke survivors

Exoskeleton-assisted rehabilitation can be beneficial in treating stroke survivors, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

28 Aug 2021

FDA approves drug-free stroke rehabilitation system to treat upper extremity motor deficits

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the MicroTransponder Vivistim Paired VNS System (Vivistim System), a first-of-its-kind, drug-free rehabilitation system intended to treat moderate to severe upper extremity motor deficits associated with chronic ischemic stroke—a stroke caused by a blockage of blood flow to the brain with long-lasting symptoms—using vagus nerve stimulation (VNS).

27 Aug 2021

Study finds a new line of drugs to stimulate myelin repair in multiple sclerosis

In the nearly 1 million Americans living with multiple sclerosis, the fatty substance that insulates the nerves of the central nervous system—called myelin—is damaged.

24 Aug 2021

Beneficial and protective effects of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines far outweigh the risk of Bell's palsy

The first large-scale population-based study on the association between the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and Bell's palsy confirms that the beneficial and protective effects of the vaccines far outweigh the risk of this rare adverse event.

16 Aug 2021

Patient laments on not getting the COVID-19 vaccine

Saul Torres considers himself lucky to be alive after contracting COVID-19 and suffering from a rare neurological condition.

10 Aug 2021

New motor imagery-based BMI system turns intentions into actions

A new wearable brain-machine interface (BMI) system could improve the quality of life for people with motor dysfunction or paralysis, even those struggling with locked-in syndrome – when a person is fully conscious but unable to move or communicate.

22 Jul 2021

Brain signals translated into speech give paralyzed man back his words

Scientists at UC San Francisco have successfully developed a "speech neuroprosthesis" device that has enabled a man with severe paralysis to communicate in sentences, translating signals from his brain to text on a screen.

15 Jul 2021

Study tests neuromuscular electrostimulation effects on hand motor recovery in older stroke patients

The University of Valencia, in collaboration with FISABIO and the Doctor Peset University Hospital, has conducted a randomised clinical trial comparing the effects of two neuromuscular electrostimulation (EENM) protocols with different frequencies on the motor impairment of the hand in older patients after a stroke.

14 Jul 2021

New treatment targeting senescent cells boosts functional recovery from spinal cord injury

Senescent cells prevent tissue recovery following spinal cord injury, and a new drug targeting these cells could therefore improve functional recovery capacity.

6 Jul 2021