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.

Viewpoints: Romney's comments point to entitlements' role as big part of 'budget paralysis;' Kristof says candidate inflated 'underlying truth'

Stigmatizing almost everyone with a federal benefit is not just bad politics. It's the worst sort of social stereotyping. But beyond (GOP presidential candidate Mitt) Romney's bluster lies a genuine problem.

21 Sep 2012

Preliminary research findings from Kessler Foundation’s Ekso device study on SCI

Kessler Foundation has released preliminary research findings from its clinical study of the wearable robotic exoskeletal device, Ekso. Gail Forrest, PhD, assistant director of Human Performance and Engineering Research, presented the Ekso research data on September 3, at the meeting of the Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals at the Rio Suites in Las Vegas. Dr. Forrest directs mobility research at the Foundation, including activity-based locomotor therapy, functional electrical stimulation, and treadmill training with the LokomatPro v6, as well as Ekso.

6 Sep 2012

Exoskeleton technology now available to take home

Exoskeleton technology leader, ARGO Medical Technologies, along with mobility solutions provider, Cyclone Technologies, announced today that Claire Lomas has become the first person to take home an exoskeleton system for personal use. Claire demonstrated her personal ReWalk™ at the annual International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) meeting held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Center.

5 Sep 2012

Neuromuscular block may not hamper facemask airway success

It may not be necessary to wait to establish good facemask ventilation before administering neuromuscular block, a study suggests.

29 Aug 2012

Profilin-1 gene influences survival time in Lou Gehrig's disease

A team of scientists, including faculty at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS), have discovered a gene that influences survival time in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease).

27 Aug 2012

Surface electromyography can rehabilitate muscles in children with cranial nerve palsy

A child's smile is something we take for granted. But muscle dysfunction can turn a simple expression of joy into a challenge. Surface electromyography provides a noninvasive method of sensing muscle activity that can be used for muscle rehabilitation—and to bring a smile to a child's face.

22 Aug 2012

Scientists unravel how brain cells encode pronunciation of individual vowels in speech

Diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease at 21, British physicist Stephen Hawking, now 70, relies on a computerized device to speak. Engineers are investigating the use of brainwaves to create a new form of communication for Hawking and other people suffering from paralysis. -Daily Mail

22 Aug 2012

CDC reports worst West Nile virus outbreak in the U.S.

This past year's mild winter and wet spring could be contributing to the worst West Nile virus outbreak since the disease was first detected in the United States in 1999. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been more cases of the virus so far this year than any year. As of August 14, almost 700 cases had been reported across the nation, including 26 deaths. This year also marks the earliest reported case of West Nile virus in New Jersey.

18 Aug 2012

Trial to test efficacy of NeuRx Diaphragm Pacing System in people with Lou Gehrig's disease

The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and The ALS Association today announced a joint commitment to provide funding for a phase 2 clinical trial that will test efficacy of the NeuRx Diaphragm Pacing System (DPS) in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

15 Aug 2012

Novel model may allow clinicians to predict potential for recovery after SCI

For more than 1 million people in the U.S. living with spinal cord injury, the frightening days and weeks following the injury are filled with uncertainty about their potential for recovery and future independence. A new model based on motor scores at admission and early imaging studies may allow clinicians to predict functional outcomes and guide decision-making for therapy and care-giving needs, as described in an article published in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

9 Aug 2012

The ALS Association announces new grants to support research on Lou Gehrig's Disease

The ALS Association announced today its latest research awards that include funding commitments of $4 million to researchers in 31 laboratories in the United States, United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany and Canada. These awards are part of its Translational Research Advancing Therapies for ALS (TREAT ALS™) program, through which The Association funds a diverse portfolio of research to find treatments and a cure for Lou Gehrig's Disease.

9 Aug 2012

Changes in monocytes are biomarker for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) are the first to discover that changes in monocytes (a type of white blood cell) are a biomarker for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease. This finding also brings the medical community a step closer toward a new treatment for the debilitating neurological disease that affects approximately 30,000 Americans.

7 Aug 2012

UI Hospital implants NeuRx Diaphragm Pacing System in a patient with ALS

The University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System is one of only a dozen hospitals nationwide to implant the NeuRx Diaphragm Pacing System in a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

3 Aug 2012

Miami Project to Cure Paralysis receives FDA permission to begin Phase 1 trial

The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, a Center of Excellence at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, has received permission from the Food and Drug Administration to begin a revolutionary Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate the safety of transplanting human Schwann cells to treat patients with recent spinal cord injuries.

1 Aug 2012

Two new targets could enhance the body's defenses against West Nile and hepatitis C

Two new targets have been discovered for antiviral therapies and vaccines strategies that could enhance the body's defenses against such infectious diseases as West Nile and hepatitis C. The targets are within the infection warning system inside living cells.

31 Jul 2012

ATP1A3 gene mutations responsible for alternating hemiplegia of childhood

Alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC) is a rare disorder that usually begins in infancy, with intermittent episodes of paralysis and stiffness, first affecting one side of the body, then the other. Symptoms mysteriously appear and disappear, again and again, and affected children often experience dozens of episodes per week. As they get older, children fall progressively behind their peers in both intellectual abilities and motor skills, and more than half develop epilepsy.

31 Jul 2012

Gene for sporadic paralysis of childhood discovered

Researchers have identified de novo mutations in the ATP1A3 gene that they believe are responsible for a sporadic childhood paralysis known as alternating hemiplegia of childhood.

30 Jul 2012

Researchers discover gene mutations in patients with alternating hemiplegia of childhood

Alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC) is a very rare disorder that causes paralysis that freezes one side of the body and then the other in devastating bouts that arise at unpredictable intervals. Seizures, learning disabilities and difficulty walking are common among patients with this diagnosis.

30 Jul 2012

New device makes it possible to draw and write using just eye movements

A novel device that makes it possible to draw and write using just eye movements has been developed by a CNRS researcher at the Centre de Recherche de l'Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière (CNRS/UPMC/Inserm).

28 Jul 2012

Caregivers of stroke survivors are at risk for depression and complications from chronic stress

Caregivers of stroke survivors are at risk for developing depression and complications from chronic stress, according to a study published by researchers at the Loyola University Chicago Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing (MNSON) in the latest issue of Biological Research for Nursing.

21 Jul 2012