Category Archives: Spinal Cord Injury Treatment

ScienceDaily (July 6, 2012) Yona Goldshmit, Ph.D., is a former physical therapist who worked in rehabilitation centers with spinal cord injury patients for many years before deciding to switch her focus to the underlying science. "After a few years in the clinic, I realized that we don't really know what's going on," she said. Now a scientist working with Peter Currie, Ph.D., at Monash University in Australia, Dr. Goldshmit is studying the mechanisms of spinal cord repair in zebrafish, which, unlike humans and other mammals, can regenerate their spinal cord following injury. On June 23 at the 2012 International Zebrafish Development and Genetics Conference in Madison, Wisconsin, she described a protein that may be a key difference between regeneration in fish and mammals. One of the major barriers to spinal regeneration in mammals is a natural protective mechanism, which incongruously results in an unfortunate side effect. After a spinal injury, nervous system cells called glia are activated and flood the area to seal the wound to protect the brain and spinal cord. In doing so, however, the glia create scar tissue that acts as a physical and chemical barrier, which prevents new nerves from growing through the injury site. One … Continue reading →

5 July 2012 Last updated at 23:58 ET Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Experiment footage showing the robotic legs in action - Courtesy Journal of Neural Engineering US experts have developed what they say are the most biologically-accurate robotic legs yet. Writing in the Journal of Neural Engineering, they said the work could help understanding of how babies learn to walk - and spinal-injury treatment. They created a version of the message system that generates the rhythmic muscle signals that control walking. A UK expert said the work was exciting because the robot mimics control and not just movement. The team, from the University of Arizona, were able to replicate the central pattern generator (CPG) - a nerve cell (neuronal) network in the lumbar region of the spinal cord that generates rhythmic muscle signals. The CPG produces, and then controls, these signals by gathering information from different parts of the body involved in walking, responding to the environment. This is what allows people to walk without thinking about it. See the article here: 'Most real' robot legs developed … Continue reading →

HAWTHORNE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. (ACOR) today announced that Jane Wasman, Chief, Strategic Development and General Counsel, will present at the JMP Healthcare Conference on Thursday, July 12, 2012 at 2:30 pm ET at the Peninsula Hotel in New York. A live audio webcast of the presentation can be accessed under Investor Events in the Investor section of the Acorda website at http://www.acorda.com, or you may use the link: http://wsw.com/webcast/jmp18/acor/ Please log in approximately 5 minutes before the scheduled time of the presentation to ensure a timely connection. An archived version of the webcast will be available until August 12, 2012 on the Investors section of http://www.acorda.com. About Acorda Therapeutics Acorda Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on developing therapies that restore function and improve the lives of people with MS, spinal cord injury and other neurological conditions. Acorda markets AMPYRA (dalfampridine) Extended Release Tablets, 10 mg, in the United States as a treatment to improve walking in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). This was demonstrated by an improvement in walking speed. AMPYRA is marketed outside the United States as FAMPYRA (prolonged-release fampridine tablets) by Biogen Idec under a licensing agreement from Acorda. AMPYRA and FAMPYRA are manufactured under … Continue reading →

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. (NVIV), a developer of groundbreaking technologies for the treatment of spinal cord injuries (SCI), today announced the inaugural Langer Summit on Neurotrauma being held in North Falmouth, MA from July 6 8, 2012. The Summit is being chaired by InVivo Therapeutics co-founder Robert S. Langer, ScD, the David H. Koch Institute Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The meeting will bring together researchers from across the world to address the challenges faced by interventions being developed for spinal cord injury and other neurological conditions. Participants will discuss the options to move recent innovations like InVivos scaffold technology and delivery systems into the clinic. This first summit is an exciting opportunity for our scientists to interact with other researchers focused on spinal cord injury and related disorders, said InVivo Medical Director, Jonathan Slotkin, MD. We look forward to not only sharing thoughts and breakthroughs related to our first product for SCI with leaders in our industry, but also to further developing our hydrogel treatment for back and leg painfor which we recently engaged the FDA. To our knowledge, this is the first summit of its kind devoted to furthering the use of biomaterial scaffold … Continue reading →

Cambridge-based InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. (NVIV), which develops treatments for spinal cord injuries (SCI) and other neurological injuries, has requested to meet with the FDA for its second product this year, a hydrogel-based treatment of acute and sub-acute neck, back, and leg pain conditions. The product is specifically intended for sciatica or radicular pain of the low back and legs and acute and sub-acute radicular pain of the neck or arms, which affect more than 4.2 million patients annually in the U.S., according to a statement. It consists of an injectable compound which slowly releases a number of molecules, including methylprednisolone, an anti-inflammatory drug. A summary of the research was published in the Journal of Biomaterials in January. For years, InVivo has been pressed by patients like myself to develop treatments for herniated disks and other neurological pain issues associated with the aging baby boomers in the United States, and now we have an answer in InVivos hydrogel platform, said InVivo CEO Frank Reynolds in the statement. We believe that the opportunity for our new treatment could exceed $22 billion annually, and by late 2012, we plan to partner with a global leader in pain therapies to bring this product … Continue reading →

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. (NVIV), a developer of groundbreaking technologies for the treatment of spinal cord injuries (SCI) and other neurological injuries, today announced a novel hydrogel based product for the treatment of acute and sub-acute sciatica or radicular pain of the low back and legs and/or acute and sub-acute radicular pain of the neck or arms. On June 29, 2012 InVivo submitted a request to meet with the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) Office of Combination Products and the appropriate representatives from the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) and the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) to discuss a novel combination product. InVivos new technology is intended for the treatment of acute and sub-acute neck, back, and leg pain conditions that affect over 4.2 million patients annually in the United States. The product consists of a novel injectable hydrogel specifically engineered to allow for an effective, sustained release of a number of molecules, including methylprednisolone. A summary of the underlying research and development of this product was published in the Journal of Biomaterials in January 2011 and has led to a broad platform of neurological interventions. For years InVivo has been pressed … Continue reading →

In 2009, 17-year-old Diovanny Teixeira suffered a paralyzing spinal cord injury while living in his native Cape Verde. Because he was in need of more advanced care than what was locally available, he was issued a special visa that allowed him to come to the United States for treatment. Eventually, he and his mother Adelaide found their way to the Franciscan Hospital for Children (FHC) in Brighton, and began an intensive 10-month rehabilitation process there. What already was bound to be a grueling and stressful ordeal could have been even harder for the Teixeiras because of the language barrier. Even for a native English speaker, complicated medical terminology can be tricky, and the pair speaks Creole at home and had been conversing with doctors only in Portuguese. But luckily, FHC has an extensive interpreter services department free and available to all of their patients and families, ensuring that nothing gets lost in translation. At FHC, the patient-base is made up of more than 30 percent non-English speakers. Because they treat children of all ages, they often need to explain to parents and other family members what is happening with their child, as well as teach them how to provide ongoing … Continue reading →

SUFFERERS of spinal cord injuries are finding it difficult to cope and become heavily dependent on their families and friends as only a few of them are able to secure jobs after being discharge from the Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre (SJGRC), a study has found. The study was done by social worker Opal Minott and senior medical doctor at the SJGRC Dr Rory Dixon, and involved the analysis of the 104 patients who had been discharged from the centre since 2010. The research team looked at the health care, income level, nutrition, recreational activities, and the level of assistance received by these patients upon their release. "What we have found is that some of them, even though they left the institution in fairly good health, when they go home, because of the challenges that they face, they come back in a very severe state and quite a few of them have died because of complications, secondary to social neglect or not being able to cope once they go out there," said Dr Minott, explaining that a number of the patients live in rural areas and find it difficult to journey to Kingston for follow-up treatment. Findings of the study … Continue reading →

Public release date: 26-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Gillian Shasby gshasby@thejns.org 434-924-5555 Journal of Neurosurgery Publishing Group Charlottesville, VA (June 26, 2012). Researchers from the Department of Neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine and the Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology at UCLA have found that a diet enriched with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid, and curcumin, a component of the Indian spice turmeric, can protect the injured spinal cord and minimize the clinical and biochemical effects of spinal cord myelopathy in rats. This finding is fleshed out in the article "Dietary therapy to promote neuroprotection in chronic spinal cord injury. Laboratory investigation," by Langston Holly, M.D., and colleagues, published today online in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine. DHA reduces inflammation and provides structural material to plasma membranes. Curcumin produces strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Both agents are safe to use and have been documented to have positive effects on the injured brain. Thus the researchers hypothesized that the combined effects of DHA and curcumin could protect the spinal cord from the cascade of cellular and related biological injuries that result from chronic cord injury. Cervical spondylotic myelopathy is the most common disorder … Continue reading →

ScienceDaily (June 26, 2012) UCLA researchers discovered that a diet enriched with a popular omega-3 fatty acid and an ingredient in curry spice preserved walking ability in rats with spinal-cord injury. Published June 26 in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine, the findings suggest that these dietary supplements help repair nerve cells and maintain neurological function after degenerative damage to the neck. "Normal aging often narrows the spinal canal, putting pressure on the spinal cord and injuring tissue," explained principal investigator Dr. Langston Holly, associate professor of neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "While surgery can relieve the pressure and prevent further injury, it can't repair damage to the cells and nerve fibers. We wanted to explore whether dietary supplementation could help the spinal cord heal itself." The UCLA team studied two groups of rats with a condition that simulated cervical myelopathy -- a progressive disorder that often occurs in people with spine-weakening conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis. Cervical myelopathy can lead to disabling neurological symptoms, such as difficulty walking, neck and arm pain, hand numbness and weakness of the limbs. It's the most common cause of spine-related walking problems in people over 55. The first … Continue reading →