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.

UCSF researchers successfully separate human muscle stem cells

UC San Francisco researchers have successfully isolated human muscle stem cells and shown that the cells could robustly replicate and repair damaged muscles when grafted onto an injured site. The laboratory finding paves the way for potential treatments for patients with severe muscle injury, paralysis or genetic diseases such as muscular dystrophy.

23 Sep 2015

Exosomes provide a promising way to induce human stem cell differentiation

Regenerative medicine using stem cells is an increasingly promising approach to treat many types of injury. Transplanted stem cells can differentiate into just about any other kind of cell, including neurons to potentially reconnect a severed spinal cord and repair paralysis.

16 Sep 2015

World Scientific's latest book to be launched on Stem Cell Awareness Day

While the world knows the $3 billion California Institute for Regenerative Medicine sprang from the citizen's initiative, Proposition 71, few people know the struggle required, nor what happened after California said "Yes!"

16 Sep 2015

Fetuses with enlarged ventricles are not ideal candidates for fetal spina bifida surgery

Fetuses with enlarged ventricles--the fluid-filled cavities inside the brain--may be less likely than other fetuses to benefit from surgery in the womb to treat spina bifida, according to a study co-authored by researchers at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco.

16 Sep 2015

Common antidepressant can help stroke patients improve movement and coordination

Working with mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins have added to evidence that a commonly prescribed antidepressant called fluoxetine helps stroke victims improve movement and coordination, and possibly why.

2 Sep 2015

Person with chronic, complete paralysis regains voluntary control to work with robotic device

A 39-year-old man who had had been completely paralyzed for four years was able to voluntarily control his leg muscles and take thousands of steps in a "robotic exoskeleton" device during five days of training -- and for two weeks afterward -- a team of UCLA scientists reports this week.

2 Sep 2015

Janssen, Bayer HealthCare announce results from landmark studies evaluating safety profile of XARELTO in NVAF patients

Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and its development partner, Bayer HealthCare, today announced results from PMSS (Post-Marketing Safety Surveillance) and XANTUS (XARELTO for Prevention of Stroke in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation), their landmark real-world studies evaluating the safety of XARELTO in people with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF).

1 Sep 2015

Study shows lack of folic acid enrichment in Europe causes foaetal abnormalities

A new international study shows that 5,000 foetuses in Europe annually are affected by spina bifida and other severe defects on the central nervous system. Seventy per cent of these pregnancies are terminated, while increased mortality and serious diseases affect the children who are born. At least half of the cases can be avoided by adding folic acid to staple foods as is already being done in seventy non-European countries.

29 Aug 2015

New device turns paralysis victims' breath into words

A new device which transforms paralysis victims' breath into words - believed to be the first invention of its kind - has been developed by academics from Loughborough University.

28 Aug 2015

Two studies highlight important new discovery around most common genetic defect linked to ALS

In today's issue of Nature, two new studies funded in part by The ALS Association both highlight an important new discovery around the C9orf72 mutation, the most common genetic defect associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

27 Aug 2015

Scientists reveal how a common gene mutation in ALS and FTD disrupts normal cell function

Researchers have determined how the most common gene mutation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) disrupts normal cell function, providing insight likely to advance efforts to develop targeted therapies for these brain diseases.

27 Aug 2015

Early exposure to inflammatory cytokines can paralyze CD4 T cells

In a discovery that is likely to rewrite immunology text books, researchers at UC Davis have found that early exposure to inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin 2, can "paralyze" CD4 T cells, immune components that help orchestrate the body's response to pathogens and other invaders.

19 Aug 2015

Tips for preventing ticks, Lyme disease

When a mosquito decides to dine on your blood, you typically know it - there's pain, itch, and annoyance. Ticks, on the other hand, take a stealthier approach, burrowing into hard-to-spot areas and hanging around for hours or days at a time.

14 Aug 2015

Rush researchers explore new stem cell therapy to treat spinal cord injuries

Researchers at Rush University Medical Center are exploring a new therapy using stem cells to treat spinal cord injuries within the first 14 to 30 days of injury. Rush is only the second center in the country currently studying this new approach.

14 Aug 2015

Study suggests potential target for treating familial form of ALS

A healthy motor neuron needs to transport its damaged components from the nerve-muscle connection all the way back to the cell body in the spinal cord. If it cannot, the defective components pile up and the cell becomes sick and dies. Researchers at the NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke have learned how a mutation in the gene for superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), which causes ALS, leads cells to accumulate damaged materials.

13 Aug 2015

UH engineer receives funding to help kids with spinal cord injuries, other mobility disorders walk

A University of Houston engineer has received funding to create a pediatric exoskeleton, designed to help children with spinal cord injuries and other mobility disorders walk.

13 Aug 2015

Einstein and Montefiore researchers receive $1.2 million grant to advance spinal cord injury research

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System have received a $1.2 million grant from New York State to advance their promising technology for treating paralysis and other effects of spinal cord injuries (SCI).

7 Aug 2015

Brain-controlled prosthesis could improve quality of life in people with spinal cord injuries

When we type or perform other precise tasks, our brains and muscles usually work together effortlessly. But when a neurological disease or spinal cord injury severs the connection between the brain and limbs, once-easy motions become difficult or impossible.

3 Aug 2015

New non-invasive spinal cord stimulation helps paralyzed men voluntarily move their legs

Five men with complete motor paralysis were able to voluntarily generate step-like movements thanks to a new strategy that non-invasively delivers electrical stimulation to their spinal cords, according to a new study funded in part by the National Institutes of Health. The strategy, called transcutaneous stimulation, delivers electrical current to the spinal cord by way of electrodes strategically placed on the skin of the lower back.

31 Jul 2015

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge making splash again this August

Led by co-founders Pete Frates, Pat Quinn and Anthony Senerchia, and with the help of celebrities, the Boston Red Sox and Major League Baseball, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is making a splash again this August.

31 Jul 2015

Paralysis News and Research

Further Reading

UCSF researchers successfully separate human muscle stem cells

Exosomes provide a promising way to induce human stem cell differentiation

World Scientific's latest book to be launched on Stem Cell Awareness Day

Fetuses with enlarged ventricles are not ideal candidates for fetal spina bifida surgery

Common antidepressant can help stroke patients improve movement and coordination

Person with chronic, complete paralysis regains voluntary control to work with robotic device

Janssen, Bayer HealthCare announce results from landmark studies evaluating safety profile of XARELTO in NVAF patients

Study shows lack of folic acid enrichment in Europe causes foaetal abnormalities

New device turns paralysis victims' breath into words

Two studies highlight important new discovery around most common genetic defect linked to ALS

Scientists reveal how a common gene mutation in ALS and FTD disrupts normal cell function

Early exposure to inflammatory cytokines can paralyze CD4 T cells

Tips for preventing ticks, Lyme disease

Rush researchers explore new stem cell therapy to treat spinal cord injuries

Study suggests potential target for treating familial form of ALS

UH engineer receives funding to help kids with spinal cord injuries, other mobility disorders walk

Einstein and Montefiore researchers receive $1.2 million grant to advance spinal cord injury research

Brain-controlled prosthesis could improve quality of life in people with spinal cord injuries

New non-invasive spinal cord stimulation helps paralyzed men voluntarily move their legs

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge making splash again this August

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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