Robotic Exoskeleton Aims to Aid Recovery from Incomplete Spinal Cord Injuries
Thanks to the help of a new robotic exoskeleton created by Rice University, patients suffering from incomplete spinal cord injuries may have a tool to accelerate recovery for mobility issues related to the forearm and wrist. According to Discovery News, professional motocross racer Randy Childers could walk, but had significant difficulty turning over a card after his crash a year ago. The newly dubbed “RiceWrist” has helped him recover much of... [Read More...]
First Stem Cell Patient Reports Increased Feeling in Legs
The first patient to receive a human embryonic stem cell injection in October last year has reported increased feeling in his legs. Where the patient, Timothy J. Atchison previously had no sensation at all, he now feels slight relief when a bowling ball is lifted from his lap and slight discomfort when hair on his legs is pulled. This patient was the first in the clinical trial of this new stem cell treatment for people with acute spinal cord injuries. Report... [Read More...]
New research center is dedicated to developing neural prostheses
UCSF-UC Berkeley launches the Center for Neural Engineering & Prostheses Last December, University of California Berkley and San Francisco launched the Center for Neural Engineering & Prostheses, where clinicians, engineers, and students from both campuses will collaborate on the research and development of new neural prosthetic technology. Solutions for spinal-cord injury Researchers at CNEP are trying to create prostheses that patients can... [Read More...]
29-year-old man regains muscle, bowel, and sexual functions after stem cell treatments
A recent case study in the International Archives of Medicine reports success in a case study that combines cellular therapies for spinal cord injury treatment. The patient, a 29-year-old male with an L1 crush fracture of the vertebral body, received stem cell therapy of umbilical cord matrix and allogeneic umbilical cord blood at 5 months, 8 months, and 14 months after his injury. No adverse effects were noted and the treatments were well tolerated. The... [Read More...]
Paralyzed monkey regains partial mobility with stem cells
AFP International reports that Japanese researchers have restored mobility in a monkey that was paralyzed from the neck down. Hideyuki Okano of Tokyo’s Keio University said:”It is the world’s first case in which a small-size primate recovered from a spinal injury using stem cells.” Dr. Okano’s researchers injected induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) into a paralyzed marmoset on the ninth day after the injury. Within two... [Read More...]
New spinal implant microchip may help exercise paralyzed limbs
U.K. Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council breakthrough may help people with spinal cord injuries The United Press International reports that British scientists have created a fingernail-sized microchip implant that will help exercised paralyzed muscles. This is the first such device that is small enough to be implanted in the vertebral canal. It incorporates muscle simulators and electrodes in one unit. According to Andreas Demosthenous... [Read More...]
First Human Embryonic Stem Cell Injection:
“A Milestone” The first person ever received a human embryonic stem cell injection Monday, Oct. 11, announces Geron Corporation After years of animal trials, the first human was injected with human embryonic stem cells Monday, initiating the first clinical trial by Geron Corporation, CNN reports. “This is the first human embryonic stem cell trial in the world,” Geron President/CEO Dr. Thomas Okarma told CNN. Geron’s clinical... [Read More...]
SCINETUSA Clinical Trials
What is SCINETUSA? SCINETUSA is a clinical trial network of cutting edge spinal cord injury centers in the United States. SCINETUSA supports and conducts clinical trials of the newest promising therapies for chronic spinal cord injury in the United States. What are the newest trials being tested? The initial trials that the network are proposing to test are: US102: A Phase 2 trial to examine the safety and likelihood of umbilical cord blood mononuclear... [Read More...]
Could IPS Cells Reinvigorate Stem Cell Research?
The a relatively new technique called induced pluripotent stem cells (IPS cells) could be the breakthrough needed to reinvigorate stem cell research and give hope to the millions of Americans suffering debilitating diseases. Perhaps its biggest saving grace is that it holds the potential to sidestep the moral and ethical concerns raised by other research techniques. There are currently three sources of stem cells for research. The first is embryonic... [Read More...]
Can You Spare a Few Billion Dollars?
Obviously, a spinal cord injury is a devastating blow. Aside from the physical and emotional trauma, the individual costs to a patient can reach $1.35 million over their lifetime. What is less obvious is that we are all hurt by the injury. How? Consider the costs. There are currently 1.3 million individuals in the United States living with a spinal cord injury. To that number, an estimated 10,000-14,000 are added each year. When you combine these... [Read More...]
