New hope for spinal cord injury victims

First breathing pacemaker comes to Israel.

The first breathing pacemaker of its kind that regulates the pace of respiration in victims of spinal cord damage has been implanted in Israel.

Yedidya Knopf, a 22-year-old resident of Jerusalem’s Alyn Rehabilitation Hospital who was seriously injured in a road accident nine years ago, was operated on a month ago at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem. Continue Reading »

Ensuring a patient received appropriate bowel care following spinal cord injury

Bowel care routines after spinal cord injury must be established and tailored to patients’ individual needs. Policies and procedures need to be regularly reviewed

This case study explores the problems that can occur when patients receive ineffective bowel care following spinal cord injury. It also investigates the implications of using anal irrigation for specialist and generalist nurses, education and audit. Continue Reading »

University of Louisville, Kentucky centers develop treatments, create hope for spinal cord injuries

A bullet remains lodged in Michelle Alexander’s spinal cord nearly six years after her husband shot her four times — instantly paralyzing her — before killing himself in July 2004.

Doctors told her she’d probably never walk again. But a rehabilitation strategy being pioneered at the University of Louisville is changing her fate.

Today Alexander uses a walker to get around, takes tentative steps with two canes and gets on a specially designed treadmill four days a week as part of a research study evaluating Locomotor training, which UofL’s Susan Harkema helped develop to teach lost skills to broken nervous systems.

It’s one of several areas of spinal cord research at UofL and the University of Kentucky, home to two of about 10 large centers for such work in the nation. Continue Reading »

Simvastatin protects bladder and renal functions following spinal cord injury in rats

Urinary bladder and renal dysfunction are secondary events associated with spinal cord injury (SCI) in humans. These secondary events not only compromise quality of life but also delay overall recovery from SCI pathophysiology.

Furthermore, in experimental models the effects of SCI therapy on bladder and renal functions are generally not evaluated. In this study, we tested whether simvastatin improves bladder and renal functions in a rat model of experimental SCI. Continue Reading »

Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation news

A Victory Lap for All

On March 26, 2010 the Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation teamed up with The Challenged Athletes Foundation of Florida and the Shoot For A Cure campaign in a race for recovery at the inaugural Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg 5K Run, Walk ‘N Wheelathon event. Continue Reading »

Catheter and Medical Supply Company, 180 Medical, Partners With Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation

180 Medical, a leading Nationally Accredited provider of sterile use catheters, urologic and disposable medical supplies, announced today they have partnered with the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation to fund innovative spinal cord injury research and support for families affected by spinal cord injuries. Continue Reading »

Avatars take to the stage in SPINE

When the cast of a new play plans its positions on a stage, the complicated process of mapping out its moves (known as blocking, and that includes not blocking sightlines for other actors) must allow for consideration of the rake, or angle, of the stage. Try figuring it all out from a wheelchair.

“It’s funny,” says James Sanders, a quadriplegic actor. “The stages aren’t always level, so I find myself trying to figure out where exactly I’m going to be, so my chair doesn’t creep around.” Continue Reading »

Team Reeve All Stars

With Team Reeve All Stars, you can be a part of our Team through just about any athletic endeavor Continue Reading »

Intermountain Medical Center helps with spinal cord injury research

Researchers at Intermountain Medical Center are hoping to eventually help improve the quality of life for people who have suffered a spinal cord injury with a unique study of newly injured patients.

While much is now understood about how spinal cord injuries affect people over the long-term, little is known about how the body’s major organs and systems — including heart and lung function, circulation, muscle tissue, bone density, hormone production and nutrition — are impacted within the first 60 days. Continue Reading »

The NeuroRecovery Network

Theres new hope for patients with spinal cord injuries, thanks to a unique program at Ohio State University Medical Center. Continue Reading »