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.

Two existing drugs may potentially become new drug target for multiple sclerosis

Two drugs already on the market -- an antifungal and a steroid -- may potentially take on new roles as treatments for multiple sclerosis. According to a study published in Nature today, researchers discovered that these drugs may activate stem cells in the brain to stimulate myelin producing cells and repair white matter, which is damaged in multiple sclerosis.

20 Apr 2015

Toxic Botox travels through our nerves to reach central nervous system

New research might bring a frown to even the most heavily botoxed faces, with scientists finding how some of the potent toxin used for cosmetic surgery escapes into the central nervous system.

17 Apr 2015

Polio immunization campaign targets 5.8 million children in Iraq

A 5-day nationwide polio immunization campaign targeting 5.8 million children under 5 years of age will begin in Iraq on Sunday 12 April. The campaign will be marked by launch events on 12 April in Baghdad, organized by the Ministry of Health, and on 13 April in Erbil organized by the Kurdistan regional Ministry of Health.

15 Apr 2015

National MS Society commits $28 million to support new MS research projects, training awards

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has committed $28 million to support an expected 84 new MS research projects and training awards. These are part of a comprehensive research strategy aimed at stopping MS, restoring function that has been lost, and ending the disease forever – for every single person with MS.

8 Apr 2015

New review highlights future research initiatives to eradicate polio

April 12th 2015 marks the 60th anniversary of the publication of Jonas Salk's landmark polio vaccine trial results, which confirmed that the first vaccine against polio was safe and effective. A new review, which was published online ahead of print in Future Microbiology, provides a comprehensive overview of current polio vaccines, and highlights new and future research initiatives, such as new vaccine formulations, that could help ensure that polio is eradicated and eradication is maintained.

6 Apr 2015

Researchers test effects of light therapy on brain function

Following up on promising results from pilot work, researchers at the VA Boston Healthcare System are testing the effects of light therapy on brain function in veterans with Gulf War Illness.

3 Apr 2015

One in five college students experiences exploding head syndrome

Washington State University researchers have found that an unexpectedly high percentage of young people experience "exploding head syndrome," a psychological phenomenon in which they are awakened by abrupt loud noises, even the sensation of an explosion in their head.

30 Mar 2015

Preventing falls in care homes: an interview with Professor Pip Logan

Older people living in care homes fall three times more frequently than individuals who still live in their own homes. There is often debate over the idea of people going into care homes as a solution to the fact they are falling at home but they can still fall in the care home.

16 Mar 2015

Cancer drug promotes neuronal regeneration after spinal cord injury

Damage to the spinal cord rarely heals because the injured nerve cells fail to regenerate. The regrowth of their long nerve fibers is hindered by scar tissue and molecular processes inside the nerves.

13 Mar 2015

Wings for Life World Run to fund breakthrough clinical study on spinal cord injury

It all started with a single toe. Even today, Dr. Susan Harkema recalls the words spoken by one of the research participants: "Look Susie, I can move my toe." The patient's name was Rob Summers and he was completely paralyzed from the neck down. After a car accident he was told he would never be able to walk again.

6 Mar 2015

Asterias begins enrollment for AST-OPC1 Phase 1/2a trial to treat complete cervical spinal cord injury

Asterias Biotherapeutics, Inc., a leading biotechnology company in the emerging field of regenerative medicine, announced today that Atlanta-based Shepherd Center, one of the nation's top rehabilitation hospitals for spinal cord injury and brain injury, has commenced enrollment for the Phase 1/2a clinical trial of AST-OPC1 (oligodendrocyte progenitor cells) in newly injured patients with sensory and motor complete cervical spinal cord injury (SCI).

5 Mar 2015

New pharmacological compounds block nerve cell damage in mouse models of MS

A newly characterized group of pharmacological compounds block both the inflammation and nerve cell damage seen in mouse models of multiple sclerosis, according to a study conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published online this week in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

28 Feb 2015

Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation announces Quality of Life grants for 75 nonprofit organizations

The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, a leading nonprofit dedicated to improving quality of life for individuals living with paralysis, announced it has awarded $600,137 in Quality of Life grants to 75 nonprofit organizations nationwide.

23 Feb 2015

Experts provide suggestions to prevent neurological injuries associated with epidural steroid injections

Epidural steroid injections are commonly used to treat pain; however, they can in rare situations produce life-threatening neurological injuries such as stroke and paralysis. In the Online First edition of February's Anesthesiology, the official medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, a panel of experts representing 13 national medical organizations provided 17 suggestions aimed at preventing such injuries and improving patient safety.

16 Feb 2015

Health Canada: Parents advised not to feed honey to infants less than one year old

In Canada, honey is the only food which has been linked to infant botulism – a rare but serious illness that is caused by ingesting the bacterium C. botulinum.

12 Feb 2015

Salicylates drugs reduce proliferation, viability of cultured vestibular schwannoma cells

Researchers from Massachusetts Eye and Ear and the Harvard Medical School/ Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Program in Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology have demonstrated that salicylates, a class of non-steroidal inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), reduced the proliferation and viability of cultured vestibular schwannoma cells that cause a sometimes lethal intracranial tumor that typically causes hearing loss and tinnitus.

9 Feb 2015

ISP shows promise in stopping fatal arrhythmias after heart attack

Case Western Reserve's chemical compound aimed at restoring spinal cord function may have an additional purpose: stopping potentially fatal arrhythmias after heart attack.

3 Feb 2015

UCLA offers new hope to patients suffering from phrenic nerve damage

David Powell could not catch his breath. The 35-year-old from San Diego got winded walking up the stairs, exercising or even just bending over to tie his shoes.

2 Feb 2015

Scientists reveal mechanism underlying cellular degeneration of upper motor neurons

For the first time, scientists have revealed a mechanism underlying the cellular degeneration of upper motor neurons, a small group of neurons in the brain recently shown to play a major role in ALS pathology.

31 Jan 2015

Rare respiratory virus could be linked to severe neurological illness in children

A cluster of children from Colorado in the USA have been treated for muscle weakness or paralysis that may be connected to a nationwide outbreak of a usually rare respiratory virus called enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), one of more than 100 non-polio enteroviruses.