SAN BRUNO, Calif., July 1 /PRNewswire/ — Despite rapid advances using a child’s own cord blood stem cells in regenerative therapies to repair damaged tissue due to injury or disease, most pregnant women today don’t learn about the ability to save their newborn’s cord blood. According to research published in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine, 3 out of every 4 pregnant women consider themselves only “minimally informed.”

July has been designated as “Cord Blood Awareness Month” by a society of the American Hospital Association Continue Reading »

WASHINGTON – Scientists have developed a novel headset that makes it possible for a person suffering from spinal cord injury to precisely control a wheelchair or computer using the tongue.

The “tongue drive”, being trialled at Georgia Tech University, Atlanta, could also give astronauts a third hand in difficult situations like spacewalks. Continue Reading »

XenoPort Reports Positive Results from a Phase 2 Trial of Arbaclofen Placarbil in Spinal Cord Injury Patients with Spasticity

SANTA CLARA, Calif.- XenoPort, Inc. announced today positive preliminary results from a Phase 2 clinical trial of arbaclofen placarbil (AP), also known as XP19986, for the treatment of patients with spasticity due to spinal cord injury (SCI). Doses of 20 and 30 mg of AP, given twice daily (BID), demonstrated statistically significant improvements compared to placebo for the primary endpoint of the study. AP was well tolerated during the trial. Continue Reading »

Demos Health is pleased to announce the publication in partnership with the Mayo Clinic of the “Mayo Clinic Guide to Living with a Spinal Cord Injury: Moving Ahead with Your Life.” This is the definitive guide for all those living with a spinal cord injury.

New York, NY (PRWEB) June 27, 2009 — “The Mayo Clinic Guide to Living with a Spinal Cord Injury: Moving Ahead with Your Life” is an indispensable guide offering a complete picture of the road to recovery and provides specifics to move ahead with your life. Continue Reading »

MELBOURNE is to host possibly the world’s first human trial to help cure long-term spinal injuries.

But researchers must first raise $5 million.

They hope the trial will help begin to restore bladder, bowel and sexual function, which are the first and most important steps for spinal-cord patients.

Eventually, researchers say, all such patients will walk again. Continue Reading »

TORONTO — When Gemini Award-winning writer Dennis Foon was asked a year and a half ago to pen a play on wheelchair athlete Rick Hansen for a debut at the 2010 Winter Olympics, he was a bit intimidated.

“The really daunting thing about it is, you know, you’ve got this huge life, this living legend, and how do you approach a living legend?” Foon, a Vancouver playwright and novelist who has also written for TV and film, said in a recent telephone interview. Continue Reading »

There’s a growing risk of spinal cord injuries. Austin doctors say the summer months pose the biggest threat.

Jared Dunten, 35, became paralyzed from the neck down during a summer vacation trip in April of 2000

“Sometimes it seems like it’s been forever….sometimes it doesn’t seem like long at all,” said Dunten.

He dove into the Rio Grande River. Continue Reading »

On Saturday, August 29, 2009, people spinal cord injury, people with brain injury, and their families are invited to UAB to hear speakers discuss community resources and latest health topics. Eat lunch and meet with community representatives providing information on recreational activities, equipment, independent living services, current back-to-work incentives and more! Continue Reading »

CHICAGO (WBBM) — For 39-year-old George Flores, harps are his life.

“I’m not the guy that plays the instrument, but I am the person that makes sure that instrument performs,” Flores said.

But it wasn’t always that way. He was a hardcore rock and roller with plenty of energy to spare, until a fateful night 5 years ago, when he was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident.

“I ended up in four feet of swamp grass laying there bleeding and dying with a spinal cord injury.”

It took Flores two years to get out of bed and realized he needed to learn how to live his life differently. Continue Reading »

Cambridge, Ia. – Turn into their driveway, just past the alfalfa and hay field a mile south of this Story County town. Walk past her older brother’s muddy Ford F-150, up the accessible wooden ramp, and into the home where Angie Plager has lived for most of her 26 years.

“You mind if I sign a photo for you?” she says immediately, flashing her lively blue eyes as she whips out a photo and Sharpie.

Clearly, Angie is ready for visitors. She wears the same tiara and sash – emblazoned with “Ms. Wheelchair Iowa 2009″ – that she’ll wear at today’s “Day at the Races” event at the Iowa Speedway. Continue Reading »