spinal cord injury

New method restores grip function more quickly to patients with tetraplegia
04/10/2013 - 11:09

A new method in which a number of operations are performed simultaneously can provide people with tetraplegia with a better grip function and the ability to open their hand. This method also shortens the patient's rehabilitation period by at least three months, reveals a doctoral thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

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Spinal Cord Injury Puts Patients at High Risk of Life-Threatening Cardiovascular Events
11/05/2012 - 13:49

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can disrupt the body's sensitive signaling mechanisms that control blood pressure, breathing, and oxygen delivery to the heart and other organs during changes in body position. Cardiovascular (CV) disease is a leading cause of illness and death following SCI, and changes in baroreflex sensitivity—the body's ability to detect and respond to changes in blood pressure—may be predictive of a CV event. A comprehensive review article on baroreflex sensitivity after SCI is published in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

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Curry spice, omega-3 fatty acid preserve walking ability following spinal-cord injury
06/26/2012 - 12:04

UCLA researchers have discovered that a diet enriched with a popular omega-3 fatty acid and an ingredient in curry spice helps to preserve walking ability in rats that have experienced damage to their spinal cords. The findings, published June 26 in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine, suggest that these dietary supplements help repair nerve cells and maintain neurological function after degenerative damage to the neck.

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Research Suggests New Therapeutic Approach for Spinal Cord Injury
03/13/2012 - 13:55

A new study suggests that administering FTY720, an oral drug that has shown promise in trials for human multiple sclerosis, significantly improves locomotor recovery in mice with spinal cord injury (SCI). The research suggests a possible new avenue to counteract the degeneration of the spinal cord in human SCI. The study will be published in the April 2012 issue of The American Journal of Pathology.

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Study highlights brain’s flexibility, gives hope for natural-feeling neuroprosthetics
03/05/2012 - 10:04

Opening the door to the development of thought-controlled prosthetic devices to help people with spinal cord injuries, amputations and other impairments, neuroscientists at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Champalimaud Center for the Unknown in Portugal have demonstrated that the brain is more flexible and trainable than previously thought.

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UCSF Team Uncovers How Immune Cells Move Against Invaders
01/20/2012 - 17:56

UCSF scientists have discovered the unexpected way in which a key cell of the immune system prepares for battle. The finding, they said, offers insight into the processes that take place within these cells and could lead to strategies for treating conditions from spinal cord injury to cancer.

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