Category Archives: Spinal Cord Injury Treatment

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. (NVIV), a developer of groundbreaking technologies for the treatment of spinal cord injuries (SCI) and other neurotrauma conditions, today announced that CEO Frank Reynolds is scheduled to appear on WCVB-TV in Boston tonight, April 10th during the 11:00pm EDT newscast. InVivo Therapeutics has pioneered a treatment that uses a biocompatible polymer-based scaffold to provide structural support to a damaged spinal cord in order to spare tissue from scarring while improving recovery and prognosis after traumatic SCI. Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted two approvals to the Company, the first for Humanitarian Use Device (HUD) designation, which the Company believes will expedite the products path to market, and the second to approve the Company to begin a first-in-man clinical trial of the technology. Our technology is a true platform that can be leveraged to create products for many neurotrauma conditions, and we look forward to beginning the study for our lead product to provide the first effective treatment option for acute SCI, said Reynolds. WCVB-TV is the ABC affiliate for the Boston market and airs locally on channel 5. About InVivo Therapeutics InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. is utilizing polymers as … Continue reading →

Apr. 11, 2013 Functional loss of limb control in individuals with spinal cord injury or stroke can be caused by interruption of the neural pathways between brain and spinal cord, although the neural circuits located above and below the lesion remain functional. An artificial neural connection that bridges the lost pathway and connects brain to spinal circuits has potential to ameliorate the functional loss. Yukio Nishimura, Associate Professor of the National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Japan, and Eberhard Fetz, Professor and Steve Perlmuter, Research Associate Professor at the University of Washington, United States investigated the effects of introducing a novel artificial neural connection which bridged a spinal cord lesion in a paretic monkey. This allowed the monkey to electrically stimulate the spinal cord through volitionally controlled brain activity and thereby to restore volitional control of the paretic hand. This study demonstrates that artificial neural connections can compensate for interrupted descending pathways and promote volitional control of upper limb movement after damage of neural pathways such as spinal cord injury or stroke. The study will be published online in Frontiers in Neural Circuits on April 11. "The important point is that individuals who are paralyzed want to be able to move … 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 neurotrauma conditions, today announced that it has commenced an offer to exchange outstanding warrants issued in 2010 to purchase approximately 15.0 million common shares ("2010 warrants") for new warrants. The 2010 warrants have exercise prices of $1.40 and $1.00 per share and expire in 2015. One of the primary reasons for the offering is to facilitate the Companys plans to uplist its stock to a national securities exchange such as NASDAQ or NYSE MKT. InVivo is offering new warrants with modified terms that extend the warrant expiration date for an additional two years in exchange for elimination of a provision in the 2010 warrants that provides anti-dilution protection if shares are sold at prices below the warrant exercise prices. The exchange offer will expire at 11:59 p.m. on May 6, 2013 unless extended. The purpose of the exchange offer is to remove the weighted average anti-dilution provisions from the 2010 warrants so InVivo's financial statements more closely reflect its operating results and financial condition and to facilitate a listing of the Company's common stock on a national … Continue reading →

The first human trial to evaluate a biopolymer scaffold product for traumatic spinal cord injury is all set to be initiated in the next few months by InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. (NVIV: Quote). The FDA approved the company's Investigational Device Exemption, seeking permission to begin human studies to test its biopolymer scaffolding for the treatment of acute spinal cord injury, today. The company plans to finalize the details of the study over the next month or so, and expects to have all data to the FDA by the end of 2014. The study is expected to occur over approximately 15 months. In non-human primate studies involving monkeys and rodents with spinal cord injury, treatment with InVivo's biopolymer scaffolding has demonstrated functional recovery. According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, the annual incidence of spinal cord injury (SCI), not including those who die at the scene of the accident, is about 40 cases per million population in the U. S. or approximately 12,000 new cases each year. Currently, there are no treatment options to successfully restore function following a spinal cord injury. InVivo's biopolymer scaffolding product has also received Humanitarian Use Device, or HUD, designation. Devices that receive HUD … 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 neurotrauma conditions, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Companys Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) to begin human studies to test its biopolymer scaffold product, a technology developed to treat patients with acute, traumatic SCI. With this approval, InVivo intends to commence a first-in-man clinical study in the next few months that will test safety and performance of its biopolymer scaffold in five patients. The Company expects the study to occur over approximately 15 months. There are currently no treatment options approved by the FDA, or in clinical trials, to intervene directly in the spinal cord following SCI. The trial will be conducted at multiple U.S. hospitals, and work to gain Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston is already underway. Its heartbreaking for all of us for it to take even a minute longer than necessary to begin human studies, and weve all heard of, or experienced, treatments that have proven to be unsafe, but when conducting a first-in-man study, it is imperative to take the time … Continue reading →

Sports Health and Research Program a Partnership with NIH and NFL Bethesda, MD (PRWEB) April 04, 2013 Through support from SHRP, the NIH is calling for the best and brightest scientists and physicians to conduct ground-breaking medical research to enhance our understanding of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and other long-term effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and spinal cord injury. We are encouraged by the momentum the SHRP team is building in such a short time with the announcement of these pioneering new research initiatives, said Maria Freire, Ph.D., President of the FNIH. Thanks to the generosity of the NFL, the program will provide us with invaluable data and ultimately ways to prevent and treat injuries in ways that will benefit athletes and non-athletes alike. "The research and results generated by the SHRP will help medical professionals understand more about head injuries not only in athletes, but also in the general population. We are proud to be collaborating with the FNIH on this important work," said Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner. While the five-year-long, $30 million program is initially focusing on brain injury, especially in athletes and veterans, SHRP may eventually expand to encompass other sports-related issues such as chronic degenerative … Continue reading →

New treatments leverage neuroplasticity, the nervous systems innate ability to repair itself By Luciana Gravotta Image: ISTOCKPHOTO/SEBASTIAN KAULITZKI When Christopher Reeve became quadriplegic, there was little hope for patients with spinal cord injury. Now researchers are combining what they know about the central nervous systems ability to rewire and regrow with a new understanding of the hidden smarts of the spinal cord to dramatically improve treatments. Even the most devastating spinal cord injuries usually do not completely sever the link between the brain, spine and the rest of the body. Scientists are now finding ways to make the most of the remaining connections using a variety of technologies. Studies on electrical stimulation and locomotor training (a treatment that relies on human or robotic assistance during a walking exercise) suggest that it is possible to regrow damaged neuronal circuits in the brain and spine and recover some voluntary control. Some of these studies find that circuits in the spinal cord itself can be coaxed into helping the body move again. When we walk, two sources of information are processed by the spinal cord. One comes from above: instructions from the brain about where we want to go based on what we … 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 neurotrauma conditions, today announced that the Company has received approval for its request filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Humanitarian Use Device (HUD) designation for its biopolymer scaffolding product. HUD designation covers devices that treat rare, orphan diseases or conditions. InVivo has received designation for the use of its biopolymer scaffolding for the treatment of recent complete spinal cord injury (no motor or sensory function) that does not involve penetrating injury or complete severing of the spinal cord. Historically, companies that have received orphan status have been able to expedite commercialization, bringing products to market several years faster than other regulatory paths would have allowed. The Company expects the device to be regulated and distributed under a Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE) pending the results of a clinical trial for which InVivo also currently has a submission under review by the FDA. The trial will be conducted to determine that the device does not pose an unreasonable or significant risk of illness or injury, and that the probable benefit to health outweighs the risk … Continue reading →

Stamford, CT (PRWEB) April 01, 2013 Medical marketing firm MCPR introduces spinal cord injury expert Dr. Argyrios Stampas for media interviews. Dr. Stampas is the Director of Burke Rehabilitation Hospitals Spinal Cord Injury Program and an Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Weill Cornell Medical College. Topics for commentary/opinion from Dr. Stampas: Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation, Latest treatments for Spinal Cord Patients, Spinal Cord Paralysis, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinsons Disease, Spasticity Management, Guillain-Barre syndrome, Will the paralyzed walk again? Argyrios Stampas, MD is the Director of Burke Rehabilitation Hospitals Spinal Cord Injury Program and an Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Stampas has a wealth of knowledge and experience in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and specialized experience in the treatment of patients with spinal cord injuries. Dr. Stampas is a graduate of the State University of New York Upstate Medical University and completed his residency at the University of Pennsylvania in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Prior to joining Burke, Dr. Stampas was affiliated with Johns Hopkins University and the prestigious International Center for Spinal Cord Injury at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. While there, he completed a fellowship in Spinal Cord Injury Medicine. … Continue reading →

The central nervous system includes the brain and spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system is comprised of all the nerve branches that leave the skull or spine to feed the individual muscles and areas of sensation. The most dramatic difference between the two systems is that, unlike the peripheral nerves, once the human brain or spinal cord is injured, they are essentially incapable of significant regeneration. Damage for the most part is permanent, and this limitation is consistent for all mammals, not just for humans. Scientists continue to study ways to change this natural boundary hoping to someday stimulate the spinal cord or brain to repair itself, but the inroads have been small. The peripheral nerves, however, have been given the miraculous capability to regenerate and repair themselves. The process of how a nerve dies back after injury, and then begins the process of repair, has been studied in detail since the first experiments by Augustus Waller in 1951. Waller was a British physician who made his discoveries through detailed studies on frogs, identifying the first steps that occur when a nerve is injured. The process remains well known today among scientists as Wallerian degeneration. Once a peripheral nerve injury … Continue reading →