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 approves drug for treatment of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Enspryng (satralizumab-mwge) for the treatment of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) in adults with a particular antibody - patients who are anti-aquaporin-4 or AQP4 antibody-positive.

17 Aug 2020

Trust, fear and solidarity will determine the success of a COVID vaccine

Thousands of letters stuffed with money flooded Jonas Salk's mailbox the week after his polio vaccine was declared safe and effective in 1955. Everybody wanted his vaccine.

17 Aug 2020

Study shows how picornaviruses infect the host cell

Picornaviruses is a family of viruses that can cause a number of different diseases, including polio, meningitis, and in rare cases myocarditis, encephalitis, and paralysis.

13 Aug 2020

Reelin inhibition may be effective for treating multiple sclerosis

In an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), decreasing the amount of a protein made in the liver significantly protected against development of the disease's characteristic symptoms and promoted recovery in symptomatic animals, UTSW scientists report.

12 Aug 2020

Meditation-relaxation technique can help treat sleep paralysis

Sleep paralysis - a condition thought to explain a number of mysterious experiences including alleged cases of alien abduction and demonic night-time visits - could be treated using a technique of meditation-relaxation, suggests a pilot study published today.

12 Aug 2020

New technology could serve as more reliable model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

A new study published today demonstrates that a technology developed at the University of Central Florida could serve as a more reliable clinically-based model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and a better screening tool for novel therapies than currently use preclinical models.

12 Aug 2020

Stanford study reveals immunological deviations and lapses in severe COVID-19 cases

Some people get really sick from COVID-19, and others don't. Nobody knows why.

11 Aug 2020

New approach enhances prediction of type 1 diabetes among susceptible children

A new approach to predicting which babies will develop type 1 diabetes moves a step closer to routine testing for newborns which could avoid life-threatening complications.

7 Aug 2020

New brain study could make it easier to monitor people with sleep disorders

When we dream, our brains are filled with noisy electrical activity that looks nearly identical to that of the awake brain.

7 Aug 2020

UArizona researcher aims to deliver statins effectively into the brain of stroke patients

Every year in the United States, about 800,000 people experience a stroke. Many are left with neurological complications such as paralysis on one side of the body, speech and language problems, vision issues, behavioral changes, and memory loss.

6 Aug 2020

Implantable brain-computer interface shows promise to improve function in paralyzed patients

Researchers demonstrated the success of a fully implantable wireless medical device called a stentrode brain-computer interface designed to improve functional independence in patients with severe paralysis.

6 Aug 2020

Mice study shows a promising therapy for spinal cord injuries

Using stem cells to restore lost functions due to spinal cord injury (SCI) has long been an ambition of scientists and doctors.

6 Aug 2020

CDC warns acute flaccid myelitis is poised for a comeback in kids this fall

As if the novel coronavirus pandemic was not enough! Now the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns parents and pediatricians to be on the watch for a rare condition called Acute Flaccid Myelitis or AFM for short, which could affect young children and cause unexplained muscle paralysis similar to poliomyelitis. Their report is published today in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

5 Aug 2020

Partial loss of MYLPF gene can cause distal arthrogryposis, shows study

Jared Talbot is part of a 32-member international research team that identified a gene that, when altered, can cause bent fingers and toes, clubfoot, scoliosis, and short stature.

30 Jul 2020

Researchers develop new device for rehabilitation of stroke patients

A research group has developed a new, lightweight and motor-less device that can be easily attached to an ankle support device - otherwise known as an ankle foot orthosis (AFO).

23 Jul 2020

Cutting-edge surgery enables patients with facial paralysis to close their eyes

Surgeons at UT Southwestern have developed and analyzed the benefits of a cutting-edge technique that provides patients with facial paralysis the ability to close their eyes.

21 Jul 2020

Researchers receive $1.3 million grant to develop better treatments for Alzheimer's disease

Innovators at Purdue University have received new support as they work to develop solutions to what U.S. military officials call an alarming trend in dementia among wounded soldiers. The same researchers also seek solutions to better treat Alzheimer's disease.

21 Jul 2020

Researchers isolate protective antibodies for rare, polio-like disease in children

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Purdue University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have isolated human monoclonal antibodies that potentially can prevent a rare but devastating polio-like illness in children linked to a respiratory viral infection.

3 Jul 2020

Low potassium levels in COVID-19 disease

Now a new study by an Italian team of researchers published in June 2020 on the preprint server medRxiv reports that potassium levels are often low in COVID-19 disease, mostly due to the urinary loss of potassium.

17 Jun 2020

Tuberculosis and polio vaccines may offer temporary protection against SARS-CoV-2

As the world grapples with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, scientists race to develop an effective vaccine to protect against the deadly SARS-CoV-2 virus. While potential vaccines are still being developed and tested, researchers propose that existing vaccines could give the immune system a temporary boost to ward off infection.

14 Jun 2020