Durham, NC (PRWEB) February 03, 2014 Previous studies have shown that multiple stem cell implantations might assist adults suffering from complete spinal cord injuries (SCI). Now a groundbreaking study released today in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine shows for the first time that children with SCI might benefit, too. Marcin Majka, Ph.D., and Danuta Jarocha, Ph.D., led the study at Jagiellonian University College of Medicine in Krakow, Poland. "Although it was conducted on a small number of patients carrying a different injury level and type, preliminary results demonstrate the possibility of attaining neurological, motor and sensation and quality-of-life improvement in children with a chronic complete spinal cord injury through multiple bone marrow derived cell (BMNC) implantations. Intravenous implantations of these cells seem to prevent and/or help the healing of pressure ulcers," Dr. Majka said. The study involved five children, ranging in age from 3 to 7, all of whom were patients at University Childrens Hospital in Krakow. Each had suffered a spinal cord injury at least six months prior to the start of the stem cell program and was showing no signs of improvement from standard treatments. The patients collectively underwent 19 implantation procedures with BM-derived cells, with every treatment cycle … Continue reading →

Hepatitis C treatment isn't pretty, but the dark days of weekly injections, rough side effects and no guarantee of full recovery from the liver-damaging disease may soon be over, researchers report. Two studies, both published in the Jan. 16 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, involved giving various combinations of antiviral pill cocktails to patients with hepatitis C. Some had failed to respond to standard treatments, and some had not received treatment yet. Yet, the cocktails cleared the virus in both studies for between 93 percent and 98 percent of the patients. These cocktails are game-changers for the illness, said Andrew Muir, director of gastroenterology and hepatology research at the Duke Clinical Research Institute. "This has made me change the way I'm talking with patients. These regimens are essentially going to cure everybody," said Muir, who has conducted related research but did not participate in these studies. "I had a patient in my office this morning who said, 'If I get cured,' and I said to him, 'When you get cured.'" Traumatic spinal cord injuries The number of serious traumatic spinal cord injuries is on the rise in the United States, and the leading cause no longer appears … Continue reading →

Before it happened, Romulo Romy Camargo spent his days and nights loaded down with a hundred pounds of body armor, weapons and ammo, slogging through steamy South American jungles and driving through dusty Afghan valleys. As a chief warrant officer for the Green Berets in 7th Special Forces Group, Camargo helped train Colombian troops to fight drug traffickers and survived deadly firefights, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and roadside bombs in Afghanistan. Then came the shot that did not miss. I got hit in the back of the neck, says Camargo, 38, sitting in a motorized wheelchair strapped into the passenger side of a specially equipped van heading to Orlando, where he is fighting a new battle, against the injury that has left him paralyzed from the shoulders down and in need of breathing assistance since being hit by a snipers bullet on Sept. 16, 2008. For the past 18 months, that battle has meant four-hour roundtrips from his New Tampa home twice a week for three hours of intensive therapy at Project Walk Orlando, a spinal cord injury rehabilitation center. But while the sessions are productive, giving Camargo hope, helping him restore some movement and maintaining the health of the rest … Continue reading →