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Stem cells target paralysis
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Neuralstem Inc., the tiny Rockville biotech whose human stem cells have
helped paralyzed rats walk again, is poised to launch its first trials
on severe spinal cord conditions in humans.
The 11-year-old company is finally readying for trials of its patented
nerve stem cell products on the first three of its possible targets:
traumatic spinal cord injury; another type of paralysis often
associated with stroke; and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as Lou
Gehrig’s disease. There are no cures for the conditions.
In a study at Johns Hopkins, Neuralstem stem cells extended the life of rats with a form of ALS.
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Restorative Therapies Announces FDA Clearance of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) Arm Cycling
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 Restorative Therapies, Inc., a designer of medical
devices providing clinic and in-home restoration therapy, today
announced FDA clearance of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) Arm
Cycling as part of its successful medical device, the RT300, an FES
motorized cycle ergometer.
Restorative Therapies, Inc., advances its new era
in treatment for neurological injury and paralysis as this FDA
clearance marks the world's first commercial release of Functional
Electrical Stimulation (FES) for Arm Cycling.
In the treatment of neurological damage, FES is used to evoke physical
activity and exercise not otherwise possible for individuals with a
neurological impairment. This latest RT300 capability delivers
electrical currents to stimulate nerves which activate arm muscles
including the biceps, triceps, supraspinatus, anterior and posterior
deltoids and the muscles of the forearm. This enables a patient's
paralyzed or weak arms to move through patterned physical activity
utilizing their own muscles.
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More travel abroad for stem cell therapy
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Six years after a car accident left Jeni Rummelt
paralyzed from the waist down, she is traveling to Moscow for a
treatment aimed at helping her walk again. Rummelt,
32, who is in Russia undergoing her sixth stem cell treatment, is one
of a growing number of Americans who are seeking overseas medical
procedures for injuries and diseases long regarded as untreatable.
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Human embryonic stem-cell work must go on, says researcher
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A top scientist using stem cells from human
embryos to cure disease and repair injuries will proceed with his work,
he said in Tucson on Tuesday, despite a recent breakthrough showing the
controversial embryos may no longer be needed.
That blockbuster breakthrough was announced last
week by researchers in Wisconsin and Japan, who have discovered how to
genetically program human skin cells to behave like embryonic stem
cells.
That means the skin cells can develop into any cell in the human body
— in the brain, heart, liver, muscle or bones — where they
potentially can be used for lifesaving repairs or cures. Until now,
only stem cells from human embryos — each a potential human life
— could do that.
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Corzine right on stem-cell pursuit
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If the negative vote on stem-cell research was because of a
reluctance to spend more taxpayer dollars, it was most unfortunate. I
commend Gov. Corzine for promoting this research despite the vote,
because doing so will result in better health care for all of us. Readers
who watched the PBS program "Innovation," which documented advances in
health care already taking place using stem cells, learned spinal cord
injuries are being treated in Lisbon, Portugal, using stem cells
isolated from the person's nasal septum. Several patients have improved
feeling and mobility.
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Ameristar Workplace Giving Campaign Yields Over $3 Million for Local Communities
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In a remarkable demonstration of philanthropic generosity, Team
Members from Ameristar Casinos, Inc. nationwide, with company and
foundation matches, will contribute more than $3 million to local
Ameristar communities through Ameristar's 2007 Workplace Giving
Campaign. The 2007 contributions surpass 2006 contributions by 23
percent.
An astounding 85 percent of the company's more than 7,200 Team
Members participated in this year's campaign. According to national
studies, the average participation rate of employees in workplace
charitable campaigns is 35 percent. At every Ameristar location, Team
Members more than doubled the U.S. average participation rate.
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Stem cell breakthrough could avoid ethical concerns
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Advocates on both sides of
the ethically charged debate over human embryonic stem cells hailed two
breakthrough studies unveiled Tuesday that suggested simple human skin
cells might one day lead to a vast array of new treatments without
destroying embryos.
Until now, researchers hoping to use stem cells to create replacement
organs and medicines for numerous diseases had assumed their best hope
was with human embryonic stem cells, which have the flexibility to turn
into any tissue type.
But the studies published in the journals, Cell and Science indicate
that other cells plucked from a person's hand or face may be just as
useful.
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Everett leaves hospital 10 weeks after injury
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Bills tight end Kevin Everett has been released from a Houston
hospital to resume his next phase of rehab, 10 weeks since sustaining a
severe spinal cord injury."While this news is a significant
milestone for me, I still have a long journey to full recovery,"
Everett said in a statement released Sunday by Houston's Memorial
Hermann/TIRR, where the player spent the past two months in rehab. It was unclear when this week he was released, but Everett will continue his rehab at the facility as an outpatient.
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Road to independence
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St. Teresa man recovering from spinal cord injury suffered in car accident
Michael Curran is inching his way back to independence.
Curran, 32, of St. Teresa says his busy recovery road since enduring a
spinal cord injury in a car crash in May while on his way to work is
overwhelming.
So much has been done —and a great deal more lies ahead —
to deal with having become a quadriplegic seven months ago.
“It blows you away,” Curran said of all that needs to be done.
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Developing Drugs To Limit Massive Cell Death After Spinal Cord Injury
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 Neurons die en masse when the spinal cord is injured or when a person
suffers a stroke. Researchers of the Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular
Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch, Germany, and of Aarhus University, Denmark,
have unraveled the molecular mechanism which causes the death not only
of damaged neurons, but also of healthy nerve cells.
In animal experiments, they have now been able to demonstrate that
neuronal cell death can be reduced when the gene of one the key players
in this process is knocked out. The research results of Professor
Thomas E. Willnow (MDC) and Professor Anders Nykjaer (Aarhus
University) have been published online in Nature Neuroscience. Now they
are working on the development of drugs to limit neuronal cell death
after spinal cord injury.
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November 2007
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