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.

Mechanical dose of load through muscle force may slow bone loss in SCI patients

Loss of bone density leads to brittle bones that fracture easily. It is a major complication of spinal cord injury (SCI), which affects about 250,000 Americans every year.

17 Feb 2012

Walking With Anthony's campaign to raise money for The CST Regeneration Project

In hopes to find a cure for better and faster healing and to raise awareness of spinal cord injuries, Walking With Anthony is starting an intensive campaign to raise money for The CST Regeneration Project.

16 Feb 2012

Pakistan, Afghanistan form joint action plan against polio

Pakistan and Afghanistan, "the world's two worst polio-affected countries," have "decided to form a joint block under the World Health Organization to eradicate the infectious disease -- which causes motor paralysis and the atrophy of skeletal muscles, often resulting in permanent physical disability or deformity -- by December 2012," Inter Press Service reports.

14 Feb 2012

Single fibronectin injection can prevent chronic pain development after SCI

Chronic neuropathic pain following a spinal cord injury is common and very difficult to treat, but a new therapeutic strategy requiring a one-time injection into the spinal column has potential to improve patient outcomes.

9 Feb 2012

FDA approves ivermectin lotion for treatment of head lice

Sanofi announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Sklice® (ivermectin) lotion, 0.5% for the topical treatment of head lice, in patients 6 months of age and older. Effective and well-tolerated, Sklice Lotion treats lice in most patients with a single 10-minute application of the lotion, without nit combing.

7 Feb 2012

Low-dose MNC hUCB therapy effective in ALS-modeled mice

Repeated, low-dose injections of mononuclear cells derived from human umbilical cord blood have been found effective in protecting motor neuron cells, delaying disease progression and increasing lifespan for mice modeling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, report University of South Florida researchers and colleagues from Saneron CCEL Therapeutics, Inc., and the Ribeirao Preto School of Medicine at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

7 Feb 2012

Married men with stroke symptoms seek medical attention earlier than women

It's been said that marriage is good for your health - especially if you're a man. Research at Mayo Clinic in Arizona shows that's true when it comes to seeking care for stroke symptoms.

3 Feb 2012

The Methodist Hospital now offers advanced rehabilitation system for treatment of foot drop

The Methodist Hospital Outpatient Rehabilitation Center now offers an advanced rehabilitation system for the treatment of foot drop in people with mobility issues caused by stroke, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and spinal cord injury.

2 Feb 2012

Rensselaer professor wins CAREER Award from NSF

Ryan Gilbert, assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has won a prestigious Faculty Early Career Development Award (CAREER) from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

1 Feb 2012

Multiple sclerosis drug Gilenya under investigation by FDA and EMA

The US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) are looking at the pros and cons of using Gilenya (fingolimod) in treating the neurological autoimmune disease Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

23 Jan 2012

Scientists discover unexpected way in which a neutrophil prepares for battle

UCSF scientists have discovered the unexpected way in which a key cell of the immune system prepares for battle. The finding, they said, offers insight into the processes that take place within these cells and could lead to strategies for treating conditions from spinal cord injury to cancer.

20 Jan 2012

$Coexisting comorbidities increase treatment costs for older adults with hip fractures$

Coexisting comorbidities increase treatment costs for older adults with hip fractures

More than 250,000 hip fractures occur every year in the U.S., often resulting in hospitalization, surgery, nursing-home admission, long-term disability, and/or extended periods of rehabilitation. Independent existing medical conditions significantly increase the treatment cost and length of hospitalization for older adults who have sustained a hip fracture, according to a new study recently published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.

19 Jan 2012

Dogs with spinal cord injuries may soon benefit from experimental drug

Dogs with spinal cord injuries may soon benefit from an experimental drug being tested by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences — work that they hope will one day help people with similar injuries.

19 Jan 2012

Geisinger, InVivo to conduct injectable biocompatible hydrogel preclinical study for PNI

InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp., a developer of groundbreaking technologies for the treatment of spinal cord injuries (SCI), and Geisinger Health System today announced a research collaboration to conduct a preclinical study using InVivo's injectable biocompatible hydrogel for the treatment of chronic pain caused by peripheral nerve compression.

17 Jan 2012

One year and no recorded polio cases in India

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that India has recorded no cases of polio for one full year - a significant benchmark for the South Asian nation and an encouraging development for health professionals fighting to eradicate the stubborn disease worldwide.

15 Jan 2012

Omega-3 can protect nerves from injury and help them to regenerate

Research from Queen Mary, University of London suggests that omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in fish oil, have the potential to protect nerves from injury and help them to regenerate.

12 Jan 2012

New laboratory approach could aid brain recovery

In humans, active periods of the debilitating disease Multiple Sclerosis (MS) can last for mere minutes or extend to weeks at a time. They're caused by lesions in the brain that develop, partly heal, and then recur. Research into a cure has been difficult, because to date scientists have not been able to replicate these brain recurring symptoms in laboratory mice. That's frustrating because these lab animals, known as animal "models," are the primary tool for research into the mechanisms and potential treatments for MS.

6 Jan 2012

Bedside clinical tools can detect acute spatial neglect after stroke

Researchers at Kessler Foundation and Seton Hall University report findings in the early diagnosis of acute spatial neglect, a hidden disability that is a common complication of stroke. In the weeks after stroke, 30-50% of stroke survivors cannot reliably report or respond to external events that take place in the space opposite the side of their brain injury.

4 Jan 2012

Botox can have unsuspected 'systemic' effects on muscles

Botulinum neurotoxin type A—better known as Botox—has previously unsuspected 'systemic' effects on muscles other than the ones it's injected into, reports a study in the January issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society.

23 Dec 2011

ALS TDI, Biogen Idec and UCB enter agreement to study anti-CD40L antibody for ALS

The ALS Therapy Development Institute today announced a research agreement with Biogen Idec and UCB Pharma SA to investigate the use of an anti-CD40L antibody as a potential therapy for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's or Motor Neuron Disease.

19 Dec 2011