Spinal Cord Injury Articles Posted by Manouli

[manouli]

AXONIS Therapeutics, Inc. Announces Seed Financing for Preclinical Development of Neuromodulating KCC2 Therapy
Novel Technology Reactivates the Neural Tissue after Spinal Cord Injury

May 28, 2020 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
CAMBRIDGE, Mass,--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AXONIS Therapeutics, Inc., an emerging biotechnology company advancing breakthrough research to treat spinal cord injury and paralysis, today announced the close of the first tranche of a $4 million Seed Preferred financing. The financing was led by Kerry Murphy, an investor, philanthropist and AXONIS Board member. The funds will enable AXONIS to conduct pre-clinical studies on its novel technology that reactivates spared neural tissue at the spinal cord injury site through upmodulation of the KCC2 protein activity. The importance of KCC2 treatment in recovery of stepping ability was first discovered by Dr. Zhigang He in his lab at Boston Children’s Hospital.

“We are very pleased with this seed funding, as it will allow us to initiate important pre-clinical work and build our team as we advance this technology,” said Joanna Stanicka, PhD, CEO, AXONIS Therapeutics. “We have seen very promising results in the proof-of-concept studies thus far, and look forward to moving this critical research to the next stage in our mission to treat paralysis.”
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https://www.businesswire.com/news/ho...al-Development

[manouli]

Scientists create a drug that 'repairs damage to the brain and spinal cord' in potential breakthrough for paralysed patients and Alzheimer's sufferers
Scientists created a synthetic version of a protein known as Cerebellin-1
It links together brain messaging neurons, which can be lost to damage or illness
The compound, called CPTX, repaired movement and memory function in mice
It offers hope of new therapies for a range of devastating conditions
read....
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...cientists.html

[manouli]

Altered enzyme offers hope for spinal injury and stroke

An enzyme proven to help regrow damaged nerve tissue in animals but too unstable for use in humans has been redesigned for stability in research co-led by Marian Hettiaratchi of the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact at the University of Oregon.

With stability added, the enzyme found in many types of bacteria, chondroitinase ABC, could potentially be repurposed to help reverse nerve damage caused by strokes and as a treatment for spinal cord injuries.

read....

https://around.uoregon.edu/content/a...ury-and-stroke

[manouli]

Simultaneous stimulation helped a spinal cord injury patient regain the ability to walk
The simultaneous stimulation of the motor nerves of the brain and limbs (paired associative stimulation) has yielded promising research results. Research conducted at the BioMag Laboratory, operated by the University of Helsinki, Helsinki University Hospital and Aalto University, has previously demonstrated that simultaneous transcranial magnetic stimulation of the brain and electrical stimulation of the limb nerves constitute a useful method of motor rehabilitation in patients suffering from spinal cord injuries.
read...
https://www.spinalsurgerynews.com/20...-to-walk/59765

[manouli]

Thursday, June 24, 2010
Researchers Discover How Folate Promotes Healing In Spinal Cord Injuries
NIH Funded Study Deciphers Chemical Sequence of Nerve Regeneration in Rats.
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The vitamin folate appears to promote healing in damaged rat spinal cord tissue by triggering a change in DNA, according to a laboratory study funded by the National Institutes of Health.
The researchers showed that the healing effects of the vitamin increased with the dosage, until regrowth of the damaged tissue reached a maximum level. After this threshold was reached, regrowth declined progressively with increasing doses until it reached the level seen in the absence of the vitamin.

Researchers Discover How Folate Promotes Healing In Spinal Cord Injuries

[manouli]

Research: “Remarkable improvements” for spinal cord injury Veterans
Aiming to implant 20 Veterans with electrodes inside the spine


A spinal cord injury (SCI) is a debilitating medical condition. It limits the function of movement and control in the body. As a result, having an SCI can lead to reduced aerobic fitness, glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. This is due to autonomic dysfunction, muscle wasting, increased regional and total body fat mass, and relative inactivity.
The Central Virginia VA Health Care System has unique expertise treating Veterans with these injuries.
The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs has awarded a grant for $3.7 million to the Central Virginia VA Health Care System and Virginia Commonwealth University. In turn, these researchers will study spinal epidural stimulation in people with spinal cord injuries. The grant is the first of its kind at a VA medical center.
VA research teams will collaborate on using spinal epidural stimulation treatment with a robotic suit. Hopefully, the result will be an improved quality of life for those suffering with spinal cord injuries. Researchers currently use VA’s robotic exoskeleton suits to improve SCI patients’ mobility and outlook for their prognosis.
more...
https://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/732...l-cord-injury-

New Hope for People With Spinal Cord Injuries
Sat Sep 12, 2020.
http://oaoa.com/online_features/heal...e724a5427.html
(NAPSI)—If you or someone you care about is ever among the approximately 17,700 Americans who each year, according to The Journal of American Medical Association, suffer a new spinal cord injury or the hundreds of thousands that continue to live with a spinal cord injury, you may be relieved to learn about recent research.
The Issue
more...
https://www.oaoa.com/online_features...e724a5427.html

[manouli]

Science News
from research organizations

New smart drug delivery system may help treatment for neurological disorders
Drug delivery technology is aimed at helping people with spinal cord and other nervous system disorders
Date:
September 17, 2020
Source:
Rutgers University
Summary:
A research team has created a smart drug delivery system that reduces inflammation in damaged nervous tissues and may help treat spinal cord injuries and other neurological disorders. The system, which uses extremely thin biomaterials implanted in the body, also protects nerve fibers (axons) that connect nerve cells in injured neural tissues, according to a new study.
read...
https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0917084045.htm

[manouli]

Kemp Proteins Selected to Provide Assay Development for Potential First-In-Class Therapy for Chronic Spinal Cord Injury
Tuesday, September 22, 2020 Research News
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https://www.medindia.net/health-pres...y-488490-1.htm

[manouli]

$13.48M Awarded To Johns Hopkins Scientists To Develop Implantable Ultrasound Devices For Patients With Spinal Cord Injury
12-Oct-2020 8:00 AM EDT, by Johns Hopkins Medicine
Newswise — A team of Johns Hopkins neurosurgeons and biomedical engineers has received $13.48 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop implantable ultrasound and other devices that could revolutionize care for people suffering from spinal cord injuries. The results could benefit thousands of U.S. service members and civilians who sustain spinal cord injuries every year.
The electronic device is planned to be the size and flexibility of a small Band-Aid? and will use high-resolution ultrasound technology to help doctors monitor and treat the changes in blood flow and prevent tissue death that occur immediately after a traumatic injury to the spinal cord.
The research program, supported by DARPA’s Bridging the Gap (BG+) program, will draw from the clinical expertise and ingenuity of its co-leaders, Nicholas Theodore, M.D., professor of Neurosurgery and Biomedical Engineering and Amir Manbachi, Ph.D., assistant professor of Neurosurgery and Biomedical Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to bring the devices from concept to human use within an ambitious five-year timeline.
more...
https://www.newswise.com/articles/13...al-cord-injury

[manouli]

Lou Gehrig's Disease: From Patient Stem Cells to Potential Treatment Strategy in One Study
Translational Research Goes Seamless: After Creating Neurons From Patients' Skin Cells, Cedars-Sinai-led Researchers 'Treat' Gene Defect in a Dish, Indicating the Therapy May Work
Los Angeles - Oct. 25, 2013 – Although the technology has existed for just a few years, scientists increasingly use "disease in a dish" models to study genetic, molecular and cellular defects. But a team of doctors and scientists led by researchers at the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute went further in a study of Lou Gehrig's disease, a fatal disorder that attacks muscle-controlling nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
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https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroo...-in-one-study/

https://www.cedars-sinai.org/newsroo...-in-one-study/

[manouli]

Quadriplegic Gold Coast spinal doctor is Queensland's Australian of the Year

The 36-year-old founder of Doctors with Disabilities Australia is Queensland’s 2021 Australian of Year.
Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM is senior resident at the Gold Coast University Hospital, a recent law graduate as well as the doctor for the Gold Coast Titans physical disability rugby league team.
more.....
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/nat...nal-doctor-is-

[manouli]

Center for Paralysis and Reconstructive Nerve Surgery Celebrates its 500th Phrenic Nerve Reconstruction Patient
Share this story:
November 11, 2020
The Center is located at Jersey Shore University Medical Center and is part of the Neuroscience Institute
After receiving corrective shoulder surgery in February 2019, John Neumaier,
M.D., Ph.D., began experiencing shortness of breath and later was diagnosed with
diaphragm paralysis. Determined to continue his active lifestyle he searched
for a solution to treat his paralysis and improve his breathing. The Seattle
resident found Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center?€™s
<STRONG>Center for Paralysis and Reconstructive Nerve Surgery</STRONG> and
Surgeon <STRONG>Matthew Kaufman, M.D., FACS</STRONG>.</P>
<P>Dr. Neumaier enjoyed skiing, playing tennis, bike riding, but after his
rotator cuff surgery, he found that simply bending over to pull weeds would make
his breathing difficult. While monitored by his physicians, he waited to see if
he would recover naturally but after 18 months, he had not seen
improvement.

more...
https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth...ction-patient/

[manouli]

Ottawa biophysicist hopes asparagus may one day help repair spinal cords
Early trials show some promise as paralyzed rats able to move their legs
Hallie Cotnam ? CBC News ? Posted: Nov 18, 2020 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

A delicate spear of asparagus might look like a delicious side dish, or at least a serving of good-for-you veggies, but Ottawa biophysicist Andrew Pelling saw something more.
"I was cooking with it one day and noticed how it … looked like a spinal cord," said Pelling. "It's full of all these little capillaries along which water gets transported."
The idea was born to use a section of an asparagus stalk, to "insert into damaged regions of the spinal cord, to guide neurons back together and reconnect," said Pelling on CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning.
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...ries-1.5804948




new:

World's first: Drug guides stem cells to desired location, improving their ability to heal
Date:
November 24, 2020
Source:
Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
Summary:
Scientists have created a drug that can lure stem cells to damaged tissue and improve treatment efficacy -- a scientific first and major advance for the field of regenerative medicine.
Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have created a drug that can lure stem cells to damaged tissue and improve treatment efficacy -- a scientific first and major advance for the field of regenerative medicine. The discovery, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), could improve current stem cell therapies designed to treat such neurological disorders as spinal cord injury, stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis?(ALS) and other neurodegenerative disorders; and expand their use to new conditions, such as heart disease or arthritis.
more..
https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...1124101031.htm


New treatment allows some people with spinal cord injury to regain hand and arm function

After a spinal cord injury, many patients do physical therapy to help them attempt to regain mobility. Recently, a series of studies have shown that implanting a stimulator to deliver electric current to a damaged spinal cord could help paralyzed patients walk again.
The UW team, composed of researchers from the Center for Neurotechnology, combined stimulation with standard physical therapy exercises, but the stimulation doesn't require surgery. Instead, it involves small patches that stick to a participant's skin like a Band-Aid. These patches are placed around the injured area on the back of the neck where they deliver electrical pulses.
read...
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-...rd-injury.html