News

Here are six key updates in the treatment of spinal cord injuries in the past six months:

The Tim and Caroline Reynolds Center for Spinal Stimulation at Kessler Foundation opened in East Hanover, N.J., in January. The facility has more than 50 researchers focusing on spinal stimulation research and restoring function in people with paralysis. Gail Forrest, PhD, who specializes in applying electrical stimulation to spinal cord injury research, was appointed director of the center.

Loa Griesbach’s days revolve around family, work, adventure, fashion, blogging — and her ventilator.

Loa Griesbach has an insane collection of designer boots and spike heels.

All are in mint condition.

No scuffs, no worn tread.

As she shares in her blog: “These boots were NOT made for walking.”

Jesse Alberi was out elk hunting 12 years ago when his truck rolled on a hilly dirt road. The accident crushed the cab and left him paralyzed from the waist down.

Later as he lay in a hospital bed facing a future in a wheelchair, Alberi wondered: Who am I if I can’t do the things I used to do?

In rodent studies, method reduced likelihood of further spinal cord trauma while delivering large doses of potentially reparative stem cells; the approach may have utility for multiple neurodegenerative conditions

Writing in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine, an international research team, led by physician-scientists at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, describe a new method for delivering neural precursor cells (NSCs) to spinal cord injuries in rats, reducing the risk of further injury and boosting the propagation of potentially reparative cells.

ST. LOUIS COUNTY — A car wreck in 1983 paralyzed Navy veteran Mike Erbe from the waist down, but he fought to stay positive, stay active. He finished his engineering degree. He got his pilot’s license.

It’s getting harder, though, as he gets older, especially while staring at four hospital walls. A urinary tract infection that became life-threatening landed Erbe, 72, of Alton, in the St. Louis VA Medical Center last fall, where he has since been trying to recover.

CLEVELAND — A groundbreaking clinical trial is starting in Cleveland soon, and researchers are currently looking for participants.

Chronic pain is a common and often debilitating problem that can significantly impact function and quality of life for patients with spinal cord injury.

To help find treatment solutions, UBC researchers are investigating the effectiveness of a drug called Targin at treating chronic pain in individuals with spinal cord injury. The research team is now recruiting study participants.

Potential First-in-Class Therapy for Chronic Spinal Cord Injury

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Jan. 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ReNetX Bio announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted the company Fast Track Designation for ReNetX Bio’s clinical therapy (AXER-204) for the potential treatment of Chronic Spinal Cord Injury (SCI).  ReNetX Bio is currently conducting a Phase 1/2 clinical trial “RESET” in patients with SCI, with topline results expected in 2021.

Implanting an infusion pump that continuously delivers the muscle relaxant baclofen to the spinal canal is a safe and effective treatment for muscle stiffness in people with neurological conditions, including cerebral palsy (CP), and provides a great degree of satisfaction to patients, according to 19 years of clinical experience at a single center in Portugal.

Columbia engineers invent a robotic trunk-support-trainer to retrain patients with spinal cord injury to sit more stably and gain an expanded active sitting workspace