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.

Brain computer interface holds potential to improve daily lives of people with prosthetic limbs

The use of brain computer interface has the potential to improve the daily lives of people with prosthetic limbs, according to research presented this week at the Association of Academic Physiatrists Annual Meeting in Las Vegas.

7 Feb 2017

Scientists discover treatment that improves symptoms in mouse model of juvenile Batten disease

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital and King's College London have discovered a treatment that improves the neurological symptoms in a mouse model of juvenile Batten disease.

6 Feb 2017

Brain-computer interface could revolutionize lives of people with completely locked-in syndrome

A computer interface that can decipher the thoughts of people who are unable to communicate could revolutionize the lives of those living with completely locked-in syndrome, according to a new paper publishing January 31st, 2017 in PLOS Biology.

1 Feb 2017

Mini-gut model provides clues to enterovirus infections in infants

Using immature stem cells to create a miniature model of the gut in the laboratory, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Pittsburgh have determined how infection-causing enteroviruses enter the intestine.

31 Jan 2017

Antibodies can activate nerve cells within milliseconds, study shows

Antibodies are able to activate human nerve cells within milliseconds and hence modify their function -- that is the surprising conclusion of a study carried out at Human Biology at the Technical University of Munich.

28 Jan 2017

Researchers explore how eye muscles retain mobility in ALS patients

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, commonly known as ALS, is an incurable neurodegenerative disease that affects all voluntary muscles in the body leading to paralysis and breathing difficulties.

26 Jan 2017

New therapy to treat spinal cord injuries shows improvements in motor function

A new therapy to treat spinal cord injuries in people who have lost all motor and sensory function below the injury site shows additional motor function improvement at 6-months and 9-months following treatment with 10 million AST-OPC1.

24 Jan 2017

Vagus nerve stimulation may hold potential to reduce drug cravings, study shows

A new preclinical study led by a University of Texas at Dallas researcher shows that vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) therapy might have the potential to help people overcome drug addiction by helping them learn new behaviors to replace those associated with seeking drugs.

24 Jan 2017

Blocking molecular signaling pathway could prevent or reverse peripheral neuropathy

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the University of Manitoba and St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre in Canada, have identified a molecular signaling pathway that, when blocked, promotes sensory neuron growth and prevents or reverses peripheral neuropathy in cell and rodent models of type 1 and 2 diabetes, chemotherapy-induced neuropathy and HIV.

18 Jan 2017

Synthesized steroid prevents lethal protein buildup in animal model of Parkinson's disease

A synthesized steroid mirroring one naturally made by the dogfish shark prevents the buildup of a lethal protein implicated in some neurodegenerative diseases, reports an international research team studying an animal model of Parkinson's disease.

17 Jan 2017

Naturally-occurring compound can inhibit early formation of toxins linked to Parkinson's Disease

A naturally-occurring compound has been found to block a molecular process thought to underlie Parkinson's Disease, and to suppress its toxic products, scientists have reported.

17 Jan 2017

Study finds that T cells play important role in control of Zika infections

The worst of the global Zika virus outbreak may be over but many key questions remain, such as why the virus persists in certain tissues after the systemic infection has cleared; how does the immune system counteract the virus and protect against reinfection; what determines the likelihood of long-term complications?

12 Jan 2017

Could pathogen infection really lead to Alzheimer’s?

New concepts of infectious disease are evolving with the realization that pathogens are key players in the development of progressive chronic diseases that originally were not thought to be infectious. Infection is well-known to be associated with numerous neurological diseases for which...

12 Jan 2017

Researchers find high-resolution structure of immature Zika virus

Researchers at Purdue University have determined the high-resolution structure of immature Zika virus, a step toward better understanding how the virus infects host cells and spreads.

10 Jan 2017

Virtual reality intervention shows promise to repair mobility and motor skills in impaired limb

A combination of traditional physical therapy and technology may improve the motor skills and mobility of an impaired hand by having its partner, more mobile hand lead by example through virtual reality training, new Tel Aviv University research suggests.

15 Dec 2016