By Bassam Khabieh | DOUMA, Syria DOUMA, Syria Ziad, a paralyzed 14-year-old boy, often stays alone in his room as bombs fall on Douma, the main rebel-stronghold in eastern Ghouta on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus. Limited in scope, number and size, there are no nearby shelters equipped to receive Ziad who cannot be moved quickly or easily during airstrikes because of his spinal injuries. "The shelters are not ready to accept people like me," he said. Until last year, treatment options were limited for spinal patients caught in a brutal civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced more than 11 million. Now, the Specialist Centre for the Rehabilitation and Care of Spinal Cord Injuries provides physical and psychological treatment. For a photo essay: reut.rs/2mJb5q7 There are an estimated 500 people with spinal injuries in eastern Ghouta, almost all casualties of the six-year war. The center, currently funded entirely by donations, can treat 12 patients at a time for a course of three to six months. Khalid Al-Hallaj, a physiotherapist who runs the center, says obstacles to rehabilitating patients in the midst of the conflict are formidable. Supplies are scarce, especially mobility chairs … Continue reading →

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. (NVIV)today announced that the Medicines Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved the companys Clinical Trial Authorization Application to commence clinical studies in the United Kingdom (UK). The approval will allow the company to enroll patients from the UK into the ongoing INSPIRE study once InVivo receives a favorable opinion from a Research Ethics Committee (REC), Health Regulatory Approval (HRA), and a site is open for enrollment. InVivo currently is in late-stage conversation with various clinical sites, and its first UK site opening should occur in the coming weeks. We are very pleased to be expanding the INSPIRE study beyond the U.S. and Canada to Europe, Mark Perrin, InVivos CEO and Chairman, said. The benefits of working within the MHRA regulatory construct are readily apparent: only one REC needs to review the study for the whole of UK, compared with individual IRB approvals in the US; site specific assessments are fairly quick; and patients are treated at designated centers of excellence. We look forward to announcing our first UK site. About The INSPIRE Study The INSPIRE Study: InVivo Study of Probable Benefit of the Neuro-Spinal Scaffold for Safety and Neurologic Recovery in Subjects with … Continue reading →

Researchers find acupuncture effective for increasing bone strength and preventing bone loss. In a laboratory investigation, electroacupuncture significantly enhanced outcomes by increasing the efficacy of physical therapy procedures. The application of electroacupuncture significantly improved bone density and strength when engaging in load-bearing exercises and treadmill running exercises. Based on the results of the study, the researchers conclude that acupuncture significantly increases bone strength and density, stimulates peripheral nerve repair, and increases the effectiveness of physical therapy procedures. Researchers at Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri), in association Heilongjiang University (Harbin, China), find electroacupuncture with load-bearing exercise is effective for increasing bone mass density (BMD) and bone strength after sciatic nerve injury. Their laboratory tests, conducted on rabbits, also show that levels of the neuropeptide Substance P (SP) were increased in correlation with bone health by application of electroacupuncture. This study shows that damage to the peripheral nervous system (PNS) can have a detrimental effect on bone health, and that electroacupuncture at Huatuojiaji (Jiaji) points enhance the effects of load-bearing exercise for the improvement of bone health and peripheral innervation. Bones appear static, but they are under constant remodeling; osteoclasts break down bone and osteoblasts build it back up again. This process … Continue reading →