By Dan Satherley Her kids think she's "a bit nuts", and her mother wasn't impressed when she found out what her daughter was planning. But 47-year-old Kim Allan is adamant she is going to walk 500km nonstop, and without sleep. Why? To raise money and awareness for spinal cord injury research and treatment and because it's a challenge. On Thursday, November 22, Ms Allen will begin the first of 332 laps around the Sri Chinmoy Peace Mile at Auckland Domain, raising money for the Auckland Spinal Rehabilitation Unit in Otara and the Catwalk Spinal Cord Injury Trust. If she completes the full 500km, the next time the Tuakau mother-of-four gets to sleep, it will probably be Sunday. "It was a matter of finding something I could do that didn't involve a huge cost from me, or myself having to get sponsorship to cover the costs, because obviously that sponsorship could have gone towards fundraising," says Ms Allen, who currently makes a living off her art. Inspired by US ultra-runner Pam Reed, she decided running or walking fit the bill nicely. "I came up with the idea after reading Pam Reed's book," says Ms Allen. "I was looking at different options … Continue reading →

Public release date: 6-Nov-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Samantha Martin samantha.martin@liv.ac.uk 44-015-179-42248 University of Liverpool Scientists at the Universities of Liverpool and Glasgow have uncovered a possible new method of enhancing nerve repair in the treatment of spinal cord injuries. It is known that scar tissue, which forms following spinal cord injury, creates an impenetrable barrier to nerve regeneration, leading to the irreversible paralysis associated with spinal injuries. Scientists at Liverpool and Glasgow have discovered that long-chain sugars, called heparan sulfates, play a significant role in the process of scar formation in cell models in the laboratory. Research findings have the potential to contribute to new strategies for manipulating the scarring process induced in spinal cord injury and improving the effectiveness of cell transplantation therapies in patients with this type of injury. Scarring occurs due to the activation, change in shape, and stiffness of cells, called astrocytes, which are the major nerve support cells in the spinal cord. One possible way to repair nerve damage is transplantation of support cells from peripheral nerves, called Schwann cells. The team, however, found that these cells secrete heparan sulfate sugars, which promote scarring reactions and could reduce the effectiveness of … Continue reading →

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 6, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chelsea Therapeutics International, Ltd. (CHTP) today announced results from a study of Northera(TM) (droxidopa) in hypotensive individuals with spinal cord injury at the 23rd International Symposium on the Autonomic Nervous System, which took place October 31 through November 3, 2012 in Paradise Island, Bahamas. The poster, titled "Blood Pressure Effect of Droxidopa in Hypotensive Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury," (poster #62) highlighted results of a clinical study designed to determine the blood pressure effect of escalating doses of droxidopa (100 mg, 200 mg & 400 mg) during three laboratory visits in hypotensive subjects (n=10) with spinal cord injury (SCI). The level of SCI ranged from cervical to low thoracic lesions, all were chronically injured and non-ambulatory and 8 were motor complete. Subjects were hypotensive at baseline (systolic BP: 87+/-14 mmHg; diastolic BP: 54+/-8 mmHg), and baseline BP did not differ among the 3 visits. Upon supine repositioning prior to drug administration, BP increased significantly (SBP: 101+/-11 mmHg; DBP: 62+/-7 mmHg; p … Continue reading →