Paraplegia News and Research

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Paraplegia is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. It is usually the result of spinal cord injury or a congenital condition such as spina bifida which affects the neural elements of the spinal canal.

UAB researchers find therapeutic target for treatment of acute spinal cord injuries

UAB researchers have identified a therapeutic target for the treatment of acute spinal cord injuries. According to this research, conducted on mice, the administration of a drug that prevents loss of myelin - the insulating sheath around nerve fibres that allows signals to be transmitted - increases the mobility of the mice after an injury.

15 Jul 2015

Project Spark to advance neuroprotective drug for schizophrenia-associated cognitive impairment

A public-private consortium led by the biotech Iproteos -based at Parc Científic de Barcelona (PCB)-, and comprised by the biopharmaceutical company Ascil-Biopharma, the Institute for Biomedical Research (IRB Barcelona), the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) and the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) has launched a project to advance the development of a new neuroprotective drug for the treatment of the cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia and other mental disorders.

31 Jan 2015

Electrical stimulation technology can help SCI patients regain bladder control

When individuals suffer a spinal cord injury, paralysis is only a part of the major impact on quality of life. Often they also lose bladder control, which frequently causes infections that can lead to kidney damage.

14 Nov 2014

TSRI study points way to potential therapies for hereditary spastic paraplegia

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered that a gene mutation linked to hereditary spastic paraplegia, a disabling neurological disorder, interferes with the normal breakdown of triglyceride fat molecules in the brain. The TSRI researchers found large droplets of triglycerides within the neurons of mice modeling the disease.

30 Sep 2014

Researchers develop artificial connection from brain to legs by bypassing with computer interface

Gait disturbance in individuals with spinal cord injury is attributed to the interruption of neural pathways from brain to the spinal locomotor center, whereas neural circuits locate below and above the lesion maintain most of their functions.

14 Aug 2014

FDA clears ReWalk wearable robotic exoskeleton for home usage

Exoskeleton leader ReWalk Robotics announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the company's ReWalk Personal System for use at home and in the community. ReWalk is a wearable robotic exoskeleton that provides powered hip and knee motion to enable individuals with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) to stand upright and walk.

27 Jun 2014

FDA approves marketing of first motorized device for patients with spinal cord injuries

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today allowed marketing of the first motorized device intended to act as an exoskeleton for people with lower body paralysis (paraplegia) due to a spinal cord injury.

27 Jun 2014

HAL robot suit helps paraplegics

For most paraplegic patients, being able to walk again remains a dream. The HAL robot suit can help them regain a certain degree of mobility and activity. An expert team at the Centre for Neurorobotic Movement Training (ZNB) in Bochum has been testing the exoskeleton that was originally developed in Japan since 2011. With excellent results.

20 May 2014

New potential treatment for paraplegic patients

People with severe injuries to their spinal cord currently have no prospect of recovery and remain confined to their wheelchairs. Now, all that could change with a new treatment that stimulates the spinal cord using electric impulses.

16 May 2014

Study shows spinal stimulation therapy may have potential to change prognosis of people with paralysis

Four people with paraplegia are able to voluntarily move previously paralyzed muscles as a result of a novel therapy that involves electrical stimulation of the spinal cord, according to a study funded in part by the National Institutes of Health and the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation.

8 Apr 2014

UC San Diego researchers uncover causes for hereditary spastic paraplegia

In a study published in the January 31, 2014 issue of Science, an international team led by scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report doubling the number of known causes for the neurodegenerative disorder known as hereditary spastic paraplegia. HSP is characterized by progressive stiffness and contraction of the lower limbs and is associated with epilepsy, cognitive impairment, blindness and other neurological features.

31 Jan 2014

ARGO Medical partners with YASKAWA for global expansion of ReWalk exoskeleton device

ARGO Medical Technologies has partnered with innovative robotics experts YASKAWA Electric Corporation as it continues the global expansion of its ReWalk exoskeleton device which enables individuals with lower limb disabilities such as paraplegia to walk.

27 Sep 2013

Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine's July issue focuses on assistive technology for spinal cord injury

The July issue of the Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine focuses on, "Advances in Technology for People with Spinal Cord Injury." Guest Editor Rory Cooper, PhD, is a member of the journal's Editorial Board. Dr. Cooper is the FISA/PVA Endowed Chair and a Distinguished Professor of the Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Pittsburgh.

22 Aug 2013

ARGO launches ReWalk Rehabilitation 2.0 system

ARGO Medical Technologies has unveiled the newest generation of its ReWalk Rehabilitation exoskeleton that enables individuals with spinal cord injuries the ability to walk again.

29 Jan 2013

Bionic devices: an interview with Dr Rylie Green

Bionic devices are implants which replace biological functions which have been lost due to nerve damage. They use electrical signals to stimulate the remaining nerve cells following disease or injury. Although the term bionic was only coined in the late 1950s, the earliest bionic devices were cardiac pacemakers, developed in the early 1900s. However the first commercial implantable units were not available until the 1950s.

14 Jan 2013

University of Tübingen heads Neuromics consortium

Work has begun on Neuromics, a major project headed by Tübingen's Professor Olaf Riess; the project beat out ten other first-class applications to attain €12m euros in EU funding over five years.

8 Nov 2012

Powered exoskeleton provides more independence to people with severe spinal cord injuries

The dream of regaining the ability to stand up and walk has come closer to reality for people paralyzed below the waist who thought they would never take another step.

31 Oct 2012

Neuralstem prices registered direct offering of 7,000,000 shares of common stock

Neuralstem, Inc. today announced the pricing of a registered direct offering of 7,000,000 shares of its common stock, offered at a price to the public of $1.00 per share.

14 Sep 2012

Q Therapeutics licenses Neuralstem's Spinal Cord Delivery Platform and Floating Cannula

Neuralstem, Inc. announced that it has granted the first licenses for use of its Spinal Cord Delivery Platform and Floating Cannula, for delivering therapeutic agents to the spinal cord, to Salt Lake City-based Q Therapeutics.

7 Sep 2012

Preliminary research findings from Kessler Foundation’s Ekso device study on SCI

Kessler Foundation has released preliminary research findings from its clinical study of the wearable robotic exoskeletal device, Ekso. Gail Forrest, PhD, assistant director of Human Performance and Engineering Research, presented the Ekso research data on September 3, at the meeting of the Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals at the Rio Suites in Las Vegas. Dr. Forrest directs mobility research at the Foundation, including activity-based locomotor therapy, functional electrical stimulation, and treadmill training with the LokomatPro v6, as well as Ekso.

6 Sep 2012