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.

CSC's stem cell-derived motor neuron product for SMA receives FDA orphan drug designation

California Stem Cell, Inc. (CSC) and Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (FSMA) announced today that the FDA has granted orphan drug designation to MOTORGRAFT™, a stem cell-derived motor neuron product, for the treatment of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA).

9 Dec 2009

Multi-institutional team explores regenerative techniques for injured spinal cords

For more than 400 years, scientists have studied the amazing regenerative power of salamanders, trying to understand how these creatures routinely repair injuries that would usually leave humans and other mammals paralyzed - or worse.

8 Dec 2009

Stem cell treatment: A new hope for Multiple Sclerosis

RNL Bio Co., Ltd, (www.rnl.co.kr) a leading biopharmaceutical company specialized in adult stem cell therapeutics announced today that a 46-year-old female, Kang Sook Park's Multiple Sclerosis improved tremendously after receiving stem cell treatment. Park was suffering from MS (Multiple Sclerosis), an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord).

6 Dec 2009

GRHF invites media to attend annual Christmas concert for pediatric programs

The Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation (GRHF) invites media to attend the Al Shamal Shriners' Oriental Band annual Christmas concert for children at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital (GRH).

5 Dec 2009

InVivo Therapeutics files an Investigational Device Exemption application with the FDA

InVivo Therapeutics Corporation has filed an Investigational Device Exemption application with the Food and Drug Administration requesting permission to advance to human clinical studies. InVivo is currently conducting its third primate study and expects to receive approval to begin a human study in 2010.

4 Dec 2009

VA expands Veteran-focused services

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki has announced the signing of a lease that will permit the dramatic expansion of services by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for Cleveland's Veterans.

1 Dec 2009

New approach for repairing damaged nerve fibers in spinal cord injuries using nano-spheres discovered

Researchers at Purdue University have discovered a new approach for repairing damaged nerve fibers in spinal cord injuries using nano-spheres that could be injected into the blood shortly after an accident.

27 Nov 2009

StemCells commences patient recruitment for a Phase I clinical trial of HuCNS-SC in PMD

StemCells, Inc. announced today that it has commenced patient recruitment for a Phase I clinical trial designed to test the safety and preliminary efficacy of its HuCNS-SC® purified human neural stem cells in Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease (PMD), a neurological disorder that primarily afflicts children. The study is being conducted at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Children’s Hospital, one of the leading medical centers in the United States for neonatology, pediatric neurology and neurosurgery.

24 Nov 2009

AmKor and Hengdian Group sign license agreement to develop and market new drug candidate in China

AmKor (AmKor Pharma, Inc.) and Hengdian Group (Hengdian Group Ltd) today announced the signing of licensing agreement for further development and commercialization of Neu2000 in China.

24 Nov 2009

New mathematical model may hasten drug development for Parkinson's Disease

Australian scientists have significantly advanced our understanding of dopamine release from nerve cells, findings that should speed the development of more effective drugs for treating Parkinson's Disease.

19 Nov 2009

Neuralstem provides financial and business updates for third-quarter 2009

Neuralstem, Inc. today provided a financial and business update for the third quarter ended September 30, 2009.

17 Nov 2009

Researchers discover a way to boost levels of palmitoylethanolamide

UC Irvine pharmacology researchers have discovered a way to boost levels of a natural body fat that helps decrease inflammation, pointing to possible new treatments for allergies, illnesses and injuries related to the immune system.

17 Nov 2009

Transplantation of hESC-derived OPCs spare spinal cord tissue in the cervical lesion site: Study

Geron Corporation today announced the publication of data showing that oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), when transplanted into a rodent model of cervical spinal cord injury, reduced tissue damage within the lesion and improved recovery of locomotor function.

12 Nov 2009

FDA approved stem cell therapy restores limb function in rats with neck spinal cord injuries

The first human embryonic stem cell treatment approved by the FDA for human testing has been shown to restore limb function in rats with neck spinal cord injuries - a finding that could expand the clinical trial to include people with cervical damage.

10 Nov 2009

FDA extends review date of New Drug Application for GSK1838262/XP13512

GlaxoSmithKline and XenoPort, Inc. (Nasdaq: XNPT) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the original Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date for its review of the New Drug Application (NDA) for GSK1838262/XP13512 (gabapentin enacarbil) to February 9, 2010. The original PDUFA date for this NDA review was November 9, 2009.

7 Nov 2009

Free electronic TBI screenings for veterans

With Veterans Day approaching on November 11, our thoughts turn to supporting our veterans. Hospital for Special Care (HSC) is offering screenings for the effects of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in veterans returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan. HSC is an extensive resource to veterans and their families on the education and treatment of TBI.

6 Nov 2009

Boosting NAD+ after spinal cord injury may prevent permanent nerve death

Substances naturally produced by the human body may one day help prevent paralysis following a spinal cord injury, according to researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College. A recent $2.5 million grant from the New York State Spinal Cord Injury Research Board will fund their research investigating this possibility.

6 Nov 2009

Acorda Therapeutics' financial results for the third quarter of 2009 and update on Fampridine-SR

Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. today announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2009.

3 Nov 2009

Geron plans to advance clinical program for spinal cord injury

Geron Corporation today announced the company’s plan to advance clinical development of its human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-based product, GRNOPC1, for the treatment of spinal cord injury.

31 Oct 2009

CIRM awards Salk Institute $10.8M grant to develop stem-cell based therapy for Lou Gehrig's Disease

The Salk Institute has been awarded a $10.8 million grant by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) for translational research focusing on developing a novel stem-cell based therapy for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) - or Lou Gehrig's Disease.

29 Oct 2009