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U.S. Sen. Harkin- Statement Regarding the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act
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U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D- IA) delivered the following remarks
yesterday on the floor of the Senate urging the adoption of S. 1183,
the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act.
The text of the speech is below.
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I come to the Senate floor with a heavy
heart and a clear purpose. Last Thursday would have been the 56th
birthday of a great actor, a devoted father and husband, Christopher
Reeve...
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Superman's battle with George Bush ... and his legacy of hope to millions
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 Film star Christopher Reeve was best
known for playing Superman until he was paralysed from the neck down
after a riding accident in 1995. He then became a tireless campaigner
for the disabled, raising millions for research.
He
survived ten years of near total immobility but died of complications
in 2004, aged 52. His wife, Dana, 44, died unexpectedly of cancer in
March 2006, leaving their son Will, then 13, an orphan. A new book
tells their remarkable story.
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Finding Clues For Nerve Cell Repair
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A new study at the Montreal Neurological Institute at McGill University
identifies a key mechanism for the normal development of motor nerve
cells (motor neurons) - cells that control muscles. This finding is
crucial to understanding and treating a range of conditions involving
nerve cell loss or damage, from spinal cord injury to neurodegenerative
diseases such as ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Nerve cell regeneration is a complex process. Not only do nerve cells
have to regenerate, but just as importantly, their specific and
individual connections need to be regenerated also.
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The Quest for a Cure: Paving the Way in Paraplegic Research
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World's Leading Spinal Cord Scientists Meet in Salzburg, Austria
The foremost spinal cord injury
researchers from the U.S. and around the globe will meet
in Salzburg's
Hangar 7 this April 28-May 2 for a scientific symposium
hosted by Wings for
Life Spinal Cord Research Foundation. Twenty-six of the
world's most
renowned neuroscientists, including 13 U.S. scholars, will
be discussing
such topics as an injured spinal cord's ability to regenerate
and the
potential treatments for paraplegia.
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Spinal cord injury research hampered by animal models
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Scientists say difficulty lies in extrapolating animal data to humans
Research on traumatic spinal cord injuries is
hampered by a reliance on animal experiments that don’t
accurately predict human outcomes, says a new study in the upcoming
edition of the peer-reviewed journal Reviews in the Neurosciences. The
review was written by scientists with the Physicians Committee for
Responsible Medicine.
“Despite decades of animal experiments, we still don’t have
a drug to cure spinal cord injury in humans,” says Aysha Akhtar,
a neurologist with PCRM and the lead author.
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Everett visits paralysis researchers
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Kevin Everett and Marc Buoniconti each suffered a severe spinal cord
injury while making a tackle. The difference between them on Friday was
the result of more than 20 years of research.
Buoniconti has used a wheelchair since being paralyzed while playing football for The Citadel in 1985.
Everett walked through the lobby of The Miami Project to Cure
Paralysis just about seven months after he crumpled face-down on the
turf following a tackle in which his helmet struck another player's
helmet and shoulder pad.
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New hope on spinal injury
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SCIENTISTS are on the brink of a major potential breakthrough in the repair of spinal cord injuries.
Action
Medical Research, a national charity, has said that the work at the
Cambridge University Centre for Brain Repair may bring new hope to
people paralysed as a result of broken backs and necks.
In the
UK there are more than 40,000 people with spinal injuries, which can
take the form of anything from loss of sensation to full paralysis.
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Steps to a Cure
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Kevin Everett, the Buffalo Bills player who was paralyzed after
breaking his neck on the football field, will soon walk. That’s
what doctors said as he was transferred from Buffalo to a Houston
hospital today, less than two weeks after sustaining a life-threatening
spinal cord injury.
“Soon… they’re going
to stand him up,” Dr. Barth Green, president of The Miami Project
to Cure Paralysis, told the Associated Press. “(Doctors are) very
confident he’ll be walking very soon… in the next days or
weeks, not months.”
Incredible news. Some would consider Everett’s progress a miracle.
But it’s not.
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Taichung hospital joins spinal cord injury group
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China Medical University Hospital in Taichung has joined the China
Spinal Cord Injury Network (ChinaSCINet) to conduct experiments into
the effectiveness of stem cell therapy in treating patients with spinal
damage, hospital sources said on Thursday.
The ChinaSCINet project, led by Wise Young from Rutgers University, is
about to extend the successful results in animal testing to human
volunteers in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China. The team has already proven
that lithium and umbilical cord blood can be helpful in reconnecting
the neural systems of animals with spinal cord injuries.
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Paralyzed athletes pin hopes on UCI researcher
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 An Irvine professor studies stem cells to look for a treatment for spinal cord injuries.The motorcycle roars to life. From his wheelchair David Bailey watches it take off. Someday, the motocross and Supercross legend thinks. Someday soon – maybe. For years, the promise of even modest recovery from the type of chronic
spinal cord injury that Bailey had two decades ago has been little more
than a cruel mirage.
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Cure Research
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