Paralysis News and Research

RSS

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.

Nerve transfer surgery restores upper limb function in people with tetraplegia

13 young adults with tetraplegia are able to feed themselves, hold a drink, brush their teeth, and write as a result of a novel surgical technique which connects functioning nerves with injured nerves to restore power in paralyzed muscles.

5 Jul 2019

Rewiring of nerves gives movement to paralyzed arms and hands

Researchers from Australia have successfully “rewired” the nerves within the paralyzed arms of some accident survivors and provided them with successful movement of arms and hands.

5 Jul 2019

Mice study suggests potential treatment approach for MS in humans

For decades medical researchers have known that an effective way to combat multiple sclerosis (MS) would be to suppress the human immune system, since the debilitating disease is caused by the immune system 'mistakenly' attacking tissues in the spine and brain.

3 Jul 2019

Anti-aging protein hormone Klotho shown to be neuroprotective in ALS model

Increasing the levels of the anti-aging protein hormone Klotho improves the neurological deficits and prolongs life span in an experimental model with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

28 Jun 2019

FDA approves first drug for treatment of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Soliris (eculizumab) injection for intravenous use for the treatment of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder in adult patients who are anti-aquaporin-4 antibody positive.

27 Jun 2019

Study finds link between high BMI and lower risk of ALS

People who have a high body mass index or who gain weight as they get older may have a lower risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, according to a large study published in the June 26, 2019, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

27 Jun 2019

Nitrogen-rich diet reduces mosquitoes' ability to transmit Zika

Feed mosquitoes more nitrogen when they're young, and the adults are less likely to transmit the Zika virus, University of Florida scientists say. Now, researchers want to know why, and they're determined to discover how the findings can help further their research into the dangerous virus.

24 Jun 2019

Virus employs powerful strategy to inhibit natural killer cell function

The virus responsible for chickenpox and shingles employs a powerful strategy of immune evasion, inhibiting the ability of natural killer cells to destroy infected cells and produce molecules that help control viral infection, according to a study published June 13 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Allison Abendroth of the Discipline of Infectious Diseases and Immunology in the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney, and colleagues.

From PLOS ONE 14 Jun 2019

Kessler Foundation receives $1 million gift to study groundbreaking treatments for spinal cord injury

Tim Reynolds, co-founder of the Wall Street firm Jane Street Capital, and his wife, Caroline, made a $1 million gift to Kessler Foundation to launch groundbreaking research at the Foundation's new Center for Spinal Stimulation.

7 Jun 2019

Most people with a hidden brain condition experience lasting physical difficulties

Four out of five people with a hidden brain condition that causes limb weakness or paralysis experience lasting physical difficulties.

6 Jun 2019

Reversibly paralyzing, heavily sedating hospitalized patients do not improve outcomes

Reversibly paralyzing and heavily sedating hospitalized patients with severe breathing problems do not improve outcomes in most cases, according to a National Institutes of Health-sponsored clinical trial conducted at dozens of North American hospitals and led by clinician-scientists at the University of Pittsburgh and University of Colorado schools of medicine.

20 May 2019

Researchers develop stem cell-based model to study neuron resilience and vulnerability in ALS

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have developed a stem cell-based model in order to study the resilience and vulnerability of neurons in the neurodegenerative disease ALS.

9 May 2019

Experts find previously unknown bacterial strain of the genus Leptospira

Experts from MedUni Vienna/Vienna General Hospital have identified a previously unknown bacterial strain of the genus Leptospira.

8 May 2019

Drug reduces risk of relapse with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, study shows

The drug eculizumab, a synthetic antibody that inhibits the inflammatory response, significantly reduced the risk of relapse with neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder.

3 May 2019

Scientists investigate processes that lead to neuronal death in ALS patients

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is an incurable disease of the central nervous system. In most cases, ALS is fatal within a short period following diagnosis.

15 Apr 2019

Heavy rains, end of drought could help keep West Nile virus subdued — for now

The end of California's drought, announced last month amid one of the rainiest winters in memory, could offer a surprising benefit: reduced transmission of the mosquito-borne West Nile virus.

12 Apr 2019

Biochemical switches could be triggered to treat pathology of IBM, ALS and FTD

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have found that the enzymes ULK1 and ULK2 play a key role in breaking down cell structures called stress granules, whose persistence leads to toxic buildup of proteins that kill muscle and brain cells.

11 Apr 2019

Advances in deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s could lead to treatments for other disorders

A new paper published in Nature Reviews Neurology suggests that recent advances in deep brain stimulation for Parkinson disease could lead to treatments for conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, Gilles de la Tourette syndrome and depression.

8 Apr 2019

First-of-its-kind human trial of new brain reading device to help speech and movement

The Stentrode™ is a device that is placed inside a blood vessel of the brain located in an area that controls movement (motor cortex). It is the only investigational technology of its kind that does not require open brain surgery.

8 Apr 2019