Current News   Miracle Worker's New Aim To Help Paraplegics Walk - 01/31/2007 The Melbourne scientist who pioneered the bionic ear is working to help paraplegics walk again. Professor Graeme Clark, who developed the cochlear implant, is developing a spinal cord implant.   You were wondering... - 01/23/2007 What's the difference between a paraplegic and a quadriplegic?   Patients With Spinal Cord Trauma Have A Ray Of Hope - 01/22/2007 Injection of the patient’s own hematopoietic stem cells promotes restoration of injured spinal cord and disrupted function of the peripheral nervous system.   Insurers Often Cap Coverage For The Latest Spinal Cord Injury Treatments - 01/22/2007 New technologies and more aggressive approaches to treating spinal cord injuries pioneered in Detroit are giving patients new independence and improved mobility.  But the innovations come at a big price at the very time insurers are trying to hold down rising health costs.   Studies Show Geron’s Stem Cell Therapeutic for Spinal Cord Injury Produces Nerve Growth Factors - 01/17/2007 Geron Corporation (Nasdaq: GERN) today reported that studies show GRNOPC1, the company’s human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-based oligodendroglial progenitor therapeutic, produces multiple nerve growth factors, proteins that stimulate the survival and regeneration of neurons damaged during spinal cord injury.   Uric Acid And Spinal Cord Injury Treatment: Novel Approach Holds Potential For Inhibiting Central Nervous System Damage - 01/05/2007 Uric acid is commonly associated with the excruciatingly painful joint disease known as gout, but it can also play a crucial role in the treatment of spinal cord injury and other central nervous system disorders, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, according to Rutgers' Bonnie Firestein.   Trials Begin For Paralysis Patients - 12/11/2000 A state-funded research pact between Indiana's top two state universities has yielded its first fruit - a human clinical trial that will test a promising new therapy for spinal cord injuries.   Experiment Inspires Hope in Spinal Cord Injury Victims - 11/21/2000 For Nicole Richards, a mutt named Yukon looks a lot like hope -- if not for her, then for people like her.   New Life Coaxed From Dead Brains - 11/06/2000 It turns out that even cadavers can supply the incredibly versatile brain stem cells - master cells which can turn into different kinds of brain and nerve cells - once thought available only from fetal tissue.   Stem Cells Might Fight Some Paralysis - 11/06/2000 Neuroscientists at Johns Hopkins say they've taken the first steps toward finding a cure for paralyzing disorders like Lou Gehrig's disease and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).   Experts: Maintain Stem Cell Research - 08/30/2000 Despite a papal condemnation of embryonic stem cell research, scientists say it cannot be abandoned because it could lead to such great medical benefits for millions of patients.   Stem Cell Guidelines Issued - 08/24/2000 New guidelines to allow federal funding of human embryo cell research may prompt a revolution in medical science, leading to dramatic new ways to treat virtually every human disorder. But anti-abortion groups are vigorously opposed, saying the research means "you have to kill a human embryo."   Stem Cells Stimulate Spinal Cord Growth - 08/16/2000 Stem cell therapy begins to rebuild the damaged nerves of partly paralyzed rats, according to a new study.   Nerve Cells Produced From Stem Cells - 08/16/2000 An international team of researchers has produced the first human nerve cells grown from embryonic stem cells.   Researchers Produce Nerve Cells - 08/15/2000 Scientists have been able to produce nerve cells in the lab by using stem cells drawn from bone marrow, a breakthrough that could help people with Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease or spinal-cord injuries.   Viagra May Help Women with Spinal Cord Injury - 07/05/2000 Viagra (sildenafil) may help to reverse sexual dysfunction in women with spinal cord injury, according to the results of a study.   Web Site Helps Disabled Design An Exercise Program - 07/03/2000 Exercise offers many benefits, and a new Web site from the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability (NCPAD) helps the disabled to tailor activity programs to suit their special needs.   The Paralyzed Look to the Governor of California - 06/26/2000 "It's up to Governor Gray Davis now," smiles Roman Reed from his wheelchair, "If California supports research to cure paralysis."   Wheelchair Warriors Fight for Cure - 05/22/2000 As exhausted Sacramento legislators wrestle constituent needs and budget realities back and forth, Fremont father Don. C. Reed sees the outcome in starkly emotional terms. "Will my paralyzed son, Roman Reed, get the chance to walk again?"   Stem Cells Repair Spinal Damage in Rats - 05/22/2000 Stem cells from embryos--cells that can give rise to various specialized types of cells--could help repair damage to the fatty sheaths that surround nerve cells, according to results of a new animal study.   Canadian Neurosurgeon Launches National Children's Program Targeting Brain And Spinal Cord Injury Prevention - 05/04/2000 As children across Canada count down to summer holidays and warm weather fun, TD Think First For Kids -- an innovative program spearheaded by one of Canada's leading neurosurgeons and researchers -- launches in schools to raise awareness of brain and spinal cord injury prevention.   Experiment Shows Regrowth of Spinal Cord Fibers - 04/28/2000 A nerve growth factor, Inosine, stimulated regrowth of severed spinal cord motor nerve fibers in an experiment on laboratory rats, Boston Life Sciences Inc. said on Friday.   Stem Cells Could Help in Cancer, Spine Injury - 04/10/2000 Stem cells -- master cells that are used to renew brain cells, blood cells and other cells -- might be used to treat both cancer and spinal cord injuries, researchers will report this week.   The Immune Response Corporation Announces Progress in the Identification Of Genes Modulated During Spinal Cord Injury and Peripheral Nerve Regeneration - 03/27/2000 The Immune Response Corporation announced today that it has made progress in identifying the gene expression patterns following anti-inflammatory treatment for spinal cord injury and the genetic basis underlying peripheral nerve regeneration. The results from microarray (gene chip) studies reported on March 23, 2000, at the, Washington, D.C., may provide the basis for developing new treatments for acute and chronic spinal cord injury.   Chip Helps Paralyzed Man Walk - 03/20/2000 Ten years after a car crash paralyzed him from the waist down, an implanted computer chip is helping Marc Merger regain the ability to walk.   Wired Rodents Trek Where No Man Has Gone Before - 03/19/2000 The creation of robotic devices controlled directly by the brain raises all kinds of science-fiction possibilities. But John Chapin, a pioneer in such research, has a more practical goal in mind.   Gene ID'd In Spinal Cord Injuries - 01/27/2000 Scientists have identified a gene that prevents the brain and spinal cord from rewiring themselves after an injury, pointing the way to new treatments that might someday help paralyzed "Superman" star Christopher Reeve and 250,000 Americans like him.   White Cells May Help Repair Spinal Cord Injury - 11/05/1999 The first US Food and Drug Administration-approved clinical trial using autologous macrophage therapy in newly injured spinal cord patients will begin this month in Israel, according to a report presented this week at the 49th Annual Meeting of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, held in Boston.   New Spine Injury Therapy Studied - 10/18/1999 Rats recovered partially from spinal cord injury when they were treated quickly with a substance pumped out by immune-system cells, an indicator of a possible new therapy, researchers report.   University Of Kentucky Researchers Discover A Molecular Cause Of SCIs - 07/26/1999 Spinal cord injuries result from damage to cells during the weeks following the injury as well as at the time of the trauma. In the August issue of Nature Medicine, University of Kentucky College of Medicine researchers report the discovery of the molecular signals that lead to apoptosis, or programmed cell death, following spinal cord injury.   Damaged Spinal Cord Found To Have Greater Potential For Nerve Regrowth Than Thought Possible - 07/16/1999 Neuroscientists at Case Western Reserve University's School of Medicine, examining how nerve cell regrowth is affected by degenerating spinal cord tissue, have published a new study showing tremendous capacity for nerve fiber regeneration from transplanted adult nerve cells in adult spinal cords with large lesions.   New Technique Induces Growth Across Spinal Cord Injury - 05/31/1999 Using a totally new approach, researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have for the first time induced the growth of severed adult mammalian spinal cord fibers across the site of the injury.   Cut Nerve Fibers Are Repaired In An Animal Model Of Spinal Cord Injury; May Help Repair Nerve Damage In Humans - 04/01/1999 Scientists have found success in animals with a promising new way to rejoin severed nerves quickly.   Help On The Way For Victims Of Paralysis - 03/11/1999 Technology being developed at SFU's school of kinesiology is closer to helping victims of stroke or spinal cord paralysis regain voluntary control of paralyzed limbs.   Pioneering Research Could Lead To Treatment Of Spinal Cord Injuries - 01/08/1999 Two Michigan Tech researchers have found a way to move some of Nature's most delicate objects with the precision of pieces on a chess board. With their new technique, they hope to lay the foundation for constructing custom-made, living tissues, possibly even creating bridges of nerves to repair spinal cord injuries.   Human Brain Cell Transplantation Study Aims To Reverse Nerve And Brain Damage - 12/29/1998 While growing cells in petri dishes has been done for more than a century, this old technique is being applied in ground-breaking new ways, and with space-age equipment, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Neurofunctional Surgery Center. The goal is to produce cures for such previously incurable conditions as spinal cord injuries, stroke, epilepsy, and Parkinson's disease.   Researchers Splice Severed Spinal Cords - 11/13/1998 Purdue University researchers have for the first time restored electrical nerve impulses in the severed spinal cord of a mammal.   High-Pressure Chambers Could Prevent Paralysis After SCI - 05/14/1998 High-pressure chambers used to treat deep sea divers for decompression sickness could play a key role in preventing permanent spinal cord damage and paralysis to many of the thousands of Americans who suffer spinal cord injuries every year, a doctor from Scotland reported May 10.   University of Florida Researchers Report Nerve Tissue Transplant Recipient Is Stable - 10/27/1997 University of Florida researchers, the nation's first to perform an experimental nerve tissue transplant to slow the progression of spinal cord damage in humans, report the condition of a 43-year-old North Florida man has not worsened since the procedure.   UCSD Researchers Use Gene Therapy To Promote Recovery From SCIs - 07/15/1997 Researchers from the UCSD School of Medicine report the first successful use of gene therapy to achieve partial recovery from spinal cord injuries.   University Of Florida Researchers Perform The Nation's First Nerve Tissue Transplant On A Paralyzed Man - 07/11/1997 University of Florida researchers have performed the nation's first nerve tissue transplant on a paralyzed man to slow the progression of spinal cord damage.   Scientists Log Breakthrough In Restoring Spinal Cord - 11/14/1987 Scientists say they have restored sensation to lab rats by repairing nerves severed and crushed at the spine, a breakthrough that may someday allow doctors to help people with disabling spinal injuries.