spinal injury treatment

Published on: October 12, 2023

Spinal Cord Injury Breakthrough Promises Hope for Auto Accident Victims

Victims of car accidents, motorcycle accidents and trucking accidents who have suffered a spinal cord injury may look forward to a day when they can walk independently again thanks to a new breakthrough in research in the field.

Scientists recently announced a breakthrough in their attempts to regenerate axons in persons who have suffered a spinal cord injury. The breakthrough was announced by a team of scientists that included both Swiss and American researchers. According to the team, they found that redirecting regenerated axons to their target regions was more effective in helping along the healing process and aided the recovery of the patient, compared to random regrowth of axons.

Back in 2018, the team had identified that axons which are responsible for communicating transmissions among the nerve cells could be regrown after the damage. However, they found that even when the axons were regrown, it did not really lead to any marked or significant functional recovery for the patient. Now, however, they say that they have found a way to redirect the regenerated axons to their target region, helping restore functional movement. The researchers experimented on mice with spinal cord injury, and found that the mice were actually able to walk independently after the treatment.

Published on: May 18, 2023

Implant Could Help Control Blood Pressure in Car Accident Victims with Spinal Injury

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Persons who have suffered spinal injuries in car accidents or fall accidents may suffer from dangerous drops in their blood pressure. A new implant can help circumvent this problem.

A person who has suffered a spinal injury may suffer from dangerous drops in blood pressure when he tries to move from a sitting to a standing position. In such cases, the person may feel dizzy or nauseous when he moves or stands. In some cases, the person may even faint as a result of the drop in blood pressure. An extremely severe drop in blood pressure can even have possibly fatal consequences.

The conservative approach to treating this problem of dips in blood pressure in spinal injury victims has been to prescribe a high – salt diet or compression stockings. However, even with the use of such methodologies and aids, victims continue to complain of dizziness and other problems.

Published on: October 8, 2019

Spinal injury treatment breakthrough offers hope to victims.

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Spinal cord injuries can be caused by a variety of accidents, including auto or truck crashes, as well as motorcycle, pedestrian and bicycle accidents. A serious fall accident can also result in a spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injuries are a type of catastrophic injury and can be a life-altering injury. Broadly, any spinal injury may result in loss of sensation or movement in one or all limbs, loss of bladder and bowel control, loss of sexual function, pain, difficulty in breathing and other complications.

If you suffer a spinal cord injury, your ability to live your life as it was before the injury will be dramatically affected. Oftentimes, there needs to be modifications made to your home and car to make it possible for you to move about or be independently mobile. Most people who have suffered a spinal cord injury, however, require long term care or assistance with daily activities. This type of care can cost upwards of tens of thousands of dollars and can be sometimes into the millions.

Published on: August 9, 2011

Treating Breathing Interruptions after Spinal Cord Injury Caused by Auto Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Scientists have made progress in addressing a serious problem that often arises after a person has suffered a spinal cord injury in a car accident.Atlanta personal injury lawyers are happy to report that researchers have tested an experimental treatment to restore breathing function interrupted after a spinal injury.

Breathing interruptions are some of the most serious complications after a person suffers a serious spinal cord injury.However, a group of neuroscientists have used a nerve graft treatment to address this issue.The results of the study have been published in the journal Nature.The tests were conducted on lab rats with successful results, and if the treatment can be transferred to humans with similar results, then doctors will be able to eliminate one of the more serious problems that can arise immediately after a spinal cord injury.

In order to understand how the treatment works, it’s important to understand how a spinal cord injury affects breathing.Breathing functions are controlled by nerve cells, which, in turn, control specialized motor cells in the spinal cord.When the vertebrae are damaged at or above the C3, C-4 and C5 segments, it affects breathing.A person in a situation like this may need to be immediately placed on a ventilator.

Published on: December 13, 2010

Auto Accident Victims with Spinal Cord Injuries Find hope in Stem Cell Trial

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Spinal cord injuries, which frequently occur during auto accidents, truck accidents and motorcycle accidents, are one of the most life-altering injuries. There is no complete cure for spinal cord injuries, but there have been very encouraging developments in possible therapies for spinal cord injury, all of them involving the use of stem cells. A California-based company has announced that it has received approval to begin nerve stem cell trials into the treatment of spinal cord injury. This study provides a reason for hope for auto accident victims who suffered this injury.

The trials will be conducted in Switzerland. Researchers believe that the country offers greater patient referral networks and a higher expertise of professionals. However, that isn’t only how these stem cell trials will differ from others. These are believed to be the first trials that will focus on treatment of older or chronic spinal cord injuries.

Earlier this year, another company, Geron Corporation announced the world’s first embryonic stem cell clinical trials into the treatment of spinal cord injuries. Those trials are partly being conducted in Atlanta. However, those trials will only focus on new spinal cord injuries. These Swiss trials will focus on injuries that are between three and 12 months older, and if these treatments are successful, it will offer hope to the more than 2 million spinal cord injury patients in the US, who currently live with these injuries. The Swiss trial researchers believe that older spinal cord injuries have been ignored, and too much of the research is focused on fresh injuries.

Published on: July 21, 2010

Spinal Cord Injury Patients to Benefit from New Technology

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

It’s not just wireless companies and commercial television stations that are in the way of a revolutionary new technology that could provide a cure for spinal cord injury. The promoters of the cure are also up against the military. However, that’s not stopping the nonprofit Alfred Mann Foundation from continuing its efforts towards a treatment.

The treatment involves the use of coordinated electrical impulses from implanted devices. These impulses stimulate the muscles, thereby allowing the limbs of the spinal cord injury victim to move. Initial tests have shown dramatic results in spinal cord injury victims. Some of them have not just been able to regain movement, but are now back to doing the things they did and enjoyed before they suffered the injury.Buoyed by these successes, the Alfred Mann Foundation is pushing for wider use of this technology.

There’s one major catch, however. In order for the signals to be transmitted properly within the human body, the technology requires electromagnetic spectrum. The four bands of recommended bandwidth that are ideally suited for the technology are currently occupied by the military, commercial land mobile radio and emergency mobile radio. None of these entities are keen to share their bandwidth with the application of a medical device.

Published on: June 29, 2010

Spinal Cord Injury Treatment Comes from Unlikely Source

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

American and Japanese researchers have found a potential treatment for spinal cord injury from an unexpected source-mice hair. This week, researchers unveiled their new discovery at the World Congress for Hair Research in Australia.

Researchers stumbled on this astounding discovery by accident. They were examining the skin of mice while researching cancer treatments at the Anti Cancer research lab in San Diego in California. They discovered that mice hair contained cells that, if placed on damaged nerves, could repair these nerves. Researchers used the mice hair to rejoin damaged nerves in mice with a spinal injury. At the conference, a video was shown of a mouse with a spinal injury, recuperating almost completely after being treated with hair cells.

There is enough reason to hope that this treatment can be duplicated in human beings too. Human hair has been found to contain similar cells that have equally beneficial results when used on mice with spinal cord injuries. Researchers believe that chances are high that a damaged human nerve will also respond well to the same kind of hair cell treatment.