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.

Combination of stem cell therapy and physical therapy can reverse effects of spinal cord injury

Walking is the obvious goal for individuals who have a chronic spinal cord injury, but it is not the only one. Regaining sensation and continence control also are important goals that can positively impact an individual's quality of life.

14 Mar 2013

New robot now being built to help stroke patients with training, motivation and walking

In Europe, strokes are the most common cause of physical disability among the elderly. This often result in paralysis of one side of the body, and many patients suffer much reduced physical mobility and are often unable to walk on their own.

12 Mar 2013

Researchers identify new mechanism in onset of motor neuron diseases

The British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking is likely to be the world's most famous person living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. ALS is a progressive disease affecting motor neurons, nerve cells that control muscle function, and nearly always leads to death.

11 Mar 2013

Researchers explore factors associated with distress after sleep paralysis episodes

Ever find yourself briefly paralyzed as you're falling asleep or just waking up? It's a phenomenon is called sleep paralysis, and it's often accompanied by vivid sensory or perceptual experiences, which can include complex and disturbing hallucinations and intense fear.

5 Mar 2013

FES cycling associated with improvements in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury

A new study by Kennedy Krieger Institute's International Center for Spinal Cord Injury finds that long-term lower extremity functional electrical stimulation (FES) cycling, as part of a rehabilitation regimen, is associated with substantial improvements in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI).

5 Mar 2013

Study identifies two gene mutations that lead to death of nerve cells in ALS

A study led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has discovered mutations in two genes that lead to the death of nerve cells in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and related degenerative diseases.

4 Mar 2013

Brown University develops new implantable and rechargeable wireless brain sensor

A team of neuroengineers based at Brown University has developed a fully implantable and rechargeable wireless brain sensor capable of relaying real-time broadband signals from up to 100 neurons in freely moving subjects.

28 Feb 2013

Acupuncture with de qi improves facial muscle recovery in Bell palsy patients

Patients with Bell palsy who received acupuncture that achieves de qi, a type of intense stimulation, had improved facial muscle recovery, reduced disability and better quality of life, according to a randomized controlled trial published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

26 Feb 2013

Individuals with psychogenic disease do have brains that function differently

Psychogenic diseases, formerly known as 'hysterical' illnesses, can have many severe symptoms such as painful cramps or paralysis but without any physical explanation. However, new research from the University of Cambridge and UCL (University College London) suggests that individuals with psychogenic disease, that is to say physical illness that stems from emotional or mental stresses, do have brains that function differently.

25 Feb 2013

New mouse model can advance research on iPS cells to next step

VIB scientists associated to the UGent have developed a mouse model that can advance the research on iPS cells to the next step.

21 Feb 2013

Imatinib can relieve and slow down progression of multiple sclerosis

A drug that is currently used for cancer can relieve and slow down the progression of the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis (MS) in rats, according to a new study published in PLOS ONE.

21 Feb 2013

UCLA plays a vital role in ongoing research into Rasmussen encephalitis

How do you find a cure for a devastating pediatric brain disease so rare that it can take decades to build a meaningful research base? In 2010, the parents of a patient created the Rasmussen Encephalitis (RE) Children's Project to help solve this problem. In a short amount of time, the foundation has raised funds to establish a consortium of top researchers, build a collection of samples of the disease from around the world and support projects to study the disease tissue and search for genetic links. The goal is to find a cure.

20 Feb 2013

Otolaryngology, head and neck surgery: an interview with Thomas Cherry, Cook Medical

Cook Medical is the world’s largest privately held medical device manufacturer. The ENT division is Cook’s 10th business unit/clinical division and we are excited to meet the needs of ENT patients.

From COOK MEDICAL INC. 18 Feb 2013

HRI to begin enrollment in RAD001 Phase II trial for Neurofibromatosis Type-2

House Research Institute (HRI) is recruiting patients for a Phase II clinical trial to test a medication that may slow the progression of Neurofibromatosis Type-2, commonly referred to as NF2.

13 Feb 2013

Abnormal TDP-43 protein causes death of astrocytes in motor neurone disease

A discovery using stem cells from a patient with motor neurone disease could help research into treatments for the condition. The study used a patient's skin cells to create motor neurons - nerve cells that control muscle activity - and the cells that support them called astrocytes.

13 Feb 2013

Study: 10 to 15% of people with TIAs will experience strokes within three months

Each year, as many as 500,000 Americans experience mini strokes called transient ischemic attacks (TIAs). Symptoms quickly go away, usually within an hour, and many people don't seek treatment. But 10 to 15 percent of people who experience TIAs will experience full-blown strokes within three months, and 40 percent of these strokes will occur in the first 24 hours, according to an article by three Loyola University Medical Center neurologists in the journal Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics.

6 Feb 2013

Researchers create CoQ9-deficient mutant mouse model with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy

At three to six months of life, this genetic alteration in mice -similar to that occurred in human- causes a rapid degeneration in the lower limbs to death for cardiac arrest.

30 Jan 2013

Consuming carotenoid-rich foods may help prevent or delay onset of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

New research suggests that increased consumption of foods containing colorful carotenoids, particularly beta-carotene and lutein, may prevent or delay the onset of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

29 Jan 2013

News outlets examines Bill Gates' commitment to fighting disease globally

"This week the billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates" -- co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation -- "will deliver the annual BBC Richard Dimbleby Lecture in which he will spell out his commitment to ridding the world of polio which can cause paralysis and even death within hours," BBC News reports.