Spinal Cord Injury News and Research

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A spinal cord injury usually begins with a sudden, traumatic blow to the spine that fractures or dislocates vertebrae. The damage begins at the moment of injury when displaced bone fragments, disc material, or ligaments bruise or tear into spinal cord tissue. Most injuries to the spinal cord don't completely sever it. Instead, an injury is more likely to cause fractures and compression of the vertebrae, which then crush and destroy the axons, extensions of nerve cells that carry signals up and down the spinal cord between the brain and the rest of the body. An injury to the spinal cord can damage a few, many, or almost all of these axons. Some injuries will allow almost complete recovery. Others will result in complete paralysis.

Exciting progress made in MS research during 2010

Exciting advances were made in 2010 in virtually every field of MS research. Progress toward finding new therapies for MS is illustrated by the availability of the first oral disease-modifying therapy for MS. Progress was also made toward finding ways to restore function and improving quality of life and specific MS symptoms through exercise, meditation, rehabilitation and medications, including the first therapy specifically approved to treat a symptom of MS (Ampyra).

20 Dec 2010

FVCG invests $175,000 in Celvive for stem cell research in spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating neurological condition with limited therapeutic options. In the United States alone, there are more than 250,000 people living with SCI; approximately three million worldwide are affected.

20 Dec 2010

RXi's dermal anti-scarring candidate selected to advance into development

RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a recognized leader in RNAi-based therapeutic discovery and development, today announced the selection of its first RNAi therapeutic product candidate to advance into development.

20 Dec 2010

Improved brain-machine technologies

A new study published in the Dec 15 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience found that monkeys were able to move thought-controlled computer cursors more quickly and accurately when provided with additional sensory feedback.

19 Dec 2010

FDA approves Neuralstem's IND to initiate NSI-189 Phase Ia safety trial in major depression

Neuralstem, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its Investigational New Drug (IND) application to initiate a Phase Ia safety trial to test NSI-189, its first small molecule compound, in major depression. NSI-189 is a proprietary new chemical entity discovered by Neuralstem that stimulates new neuron growth in the hippocampus, an area of the brain that is believed to be involved in depression and other diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease.

17 Dec 2010

Preliminary results from Phase 1b/2a trial of MediciNova's ibudilast in opioid addicts announced

Drug addiction investigators with joint appointments at Columbia University Medical Center and the New York State Psychiatric Institute along with MediciNova Inc, a biopharmaceutical company publicly traded on the Nasdaq Global Market and the Jasdaq Market of the Osaka Securities Exchange, today reported preliminary results of the company's neurological drug candidate, ibudilast (MN-166/AV411), in a Phase 1b/2a trial in opioid addicts. The study was largely funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) with MediciNova supplementation.

14 Dec 2010

Acorda initiates enrollment in GGF2 Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with heart failure

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that the first patient has been enrolled in the first clinical trial of Glial Growth Factor 2 (GGF2). Acorda is collaborating with the Vanderbilt University Heart and Vascular Institute to conduct this Phase 1 single-dose trial in patients with heart failure.

9 Dec 2010

New technique jumpstarts growth of nerve fibers to reverse stroke damage

A new technique that jumpstarts the growth of nerve fibers could reverse much of the damage caused by strokes, researchers report in the Jan. 7, 2011 issue of the journal Stroke.

9 Dec 2010

New approach points towards effective stem cell therapies for spinal cord injury

Initial experiments suggest a possible new approach to stem cell therapy for spinal cord injuries—using biocompatible "channels" made of chitosan to guide regeneration of new spinal cord tissue, reports the December issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

8 Dec 2010

Beike exits stem cell joint venture with SiriCell

Shenzhen Beike Biotechnology Co. Ltd. ("Beike") and SiriCell Technologies, Inc. announced that they are ending their partnership in "Beike Holdings Limited", a joint venture formed by the two companies in 2008. Going forward, Beike will exit the joint venture, and all current and future Beike Holdings-initiated business activities will operate exclusively under the SiriCell brand. Beike Holdings was established to expand the availability of Beike's stem cell products outside of China through collaborative hospital partnerships and new international subsidiaries.

8 Dec 2010

New technique may help develop novel treatments for brain diseases

Scientists have created a way to isolate neural stem cells - cells that give rise to all the cell types of the brain - from human brain tissue with unprecedented precision, an important step toward developing new treatments for conditions of the nervous system, like Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases and spinal cord injury.

8 Dec 2010

Swissmedic authorizes Phase I/II clinical trial of human neural stem cells for chronic spinal cord injury

A therapy developed by Aileen Anderson and Brian Cummings of UC Irvine's Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center in collaboration with researchers at StemCells Inc. will be the basis of the world's first clinical trial using human neural stem cells to treat spinal cord injury.

8 Dec 2010

StemCells receives Swissmedic authorization to initiate HuCNS-SC Phase I/II clinical trial in spinal cord injury

StemCells, Inc. announced today that is has received authorization from Swissmedic, the Swiss regulatory agency for therapeutic products, to initiate a Phase I/II clinical trial in Switzerland of the Company's proprietary HuCNS-SC® product candidate (purified human neural stem cells) in chronic spinal cord injury. The trial is designed to assess both safety and preliminary efficacy in patients with varying degrees of paralysis who are three to 12 months post-injury, and will progressively enroll patients based upon the severity of injury.

7 Dec 2010

Multiple sclerosis therapy breakthrough with stem cells

There seems to a glimmer of hope for tens of thousands of multiple sclerosis sufferers as researchers discover a way to repair damaged nerves with stem cells. The British team says their findings could lead to the development of drugs that repair nerves in the brain and spinal cord and potentially reverse some of the symptoms of MS.

5 Dec 2010

CSC files IND application to commence Phase I study for Spinal Muscular Atrophy

California Stem Cell, Inc. (CSC) and Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (FSMA) announced today that CSC has filed an investigational new drug (IND) application with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval to commence a Phase I safety study on a jointly-developed stem cell-derived motor neuron transplantation therapy for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Type I.

2 Dec 2010

Embryonic stem cell research has not made good on taxpayer investment

In 2004 Robert Klein, chairman of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), helped pass Proposition 71, establishing the CIRM with a state taxpayer-funded $3 billion budget for ten years. The measure was passed with promises of affordable cures for virtually all diseases, cures specifically from embryonic stem cells and cloning, as well as tremendous financial payback for the citizens of California. The Los Angeles Times recently noted that Klein plans to seek up to $3 billion more from state taxpayers for his stem cell fiefdom.

25 Nov 2010

New microchip implant enables people with paraplegia to exercise paralysed leg muscles

Engineers have developed a new type of microchip muscle stimulator implant that will enable people with paraplegia to exercise their paralysed leg muscles.

23 Nov 2010

Chardan initiates independent equity research coverage on StemCells

StemCells, Inc. announced today that Chardan Capital Markets (Chardan) initiated independent equity research coverage on the Company with a "Buy" recommendation and a 12-month price target of $1.45 per share. The new report, issued yesterday, was authored by Keay Nakae, Senior Analyst at Chardan.

20 Nov 2010

Spleen cells may do more harm than good at site of spinal cord injury

The spleen, an organ that helps the body fight infections, might also be a source of the cells that end up doing more harm than good at the site of a spinal cord injury, new research suggests.

18 Nov 2010

Clinical trial shows dalfampridine tablets improve walking ability in MS patients

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that data from the second of two pivotal dalfampridine extended release tablets Phase 3 clinical trials in multiple sclerosis (MS) were published in the October 2010 edition of Annals of Neurology.

18 Nov 2010

Spinal Cord Injury News and Research

Further Reading

Exciting progress made in MS research during 2010

FVCG invests $175,000 in Celvive for stem cell research in spinal cord injury

RXi's dermal anti-scarring candidate selected to advance into development

Improved brain-machine technologies

FDA approves Neuralstem's IND to initiate NSI-189 Phase Ia safety trial in major depression

Preliminary results from Phase 1b/2a trial of MediciNova's ibudilast in opioid addicts announced

Acorda initiates enrollment in GGF2 Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with heart failure

New technique jumpstarts growth of nerve fibers to reverse stroke damage

New approach points towards effective stem cell therapies for spinal cord injury

Beike exits stem cell joint venture with SiriCell

New technique may help develop novel treatments for brain diseases

Swissmedic authorizes Phase I/II clinical trial of human neural stem cells for chronic spinal cord injury

StemCells receives Swissmedic authorization to initiate HuCNS-SC Phase I/II clinical trial in spinal cord injury

Multiple sclerosis therapy breakthrough with stem cells

CSC files IND application to commence Phase I study for Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Embryonic stem cell research has not made good on taxpayer investment

New microchip implant enables people with paraplegia to exercise paralysed leg muscles

Chardan initiates independent equity research coverage on StemCells

Spleen cells may do more harm than good at site of spinal cord injury

Clinical trial shows dalfampridine tablets improve walking ability in MS patients

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