IPHREHAB: Embryonic Stem Cell Therapy & Spinal Cord Injury Cure

IPHREHAB:

Embryonic Stem Cell Therapy & Spinal Cord Injury Cure

Traumatic Injury to the Spinal Cord

Traumatic injury to the spinal cord prevents electrical nerve messages travelling to and from the brain. When injured, the substance coating the nerves breaks down, along with cellular damage to the neurons, and the electrical signals short circuit, stopping the signals from reaching their destination. These messages control most functions of the human body, including touch and sensation, muscle movement, bladder control and sexual function. With the loss of these messages, the body is paralysed below the level of injury.

Clearing the Way for Stem Cell Therapy to Re-Grow Spinal Cord Nerves

Just days after the inauguration of President Barack Obama, the FDA decided to clear the way for the world's first study on human embryonic stem cell therapy. Geron Corp, the company behind the research, plans to initiate a clinical trial in patients newly paralysed due to spinal cord injury. Initially, a handful of patients with severe spinal cord injuries will be eligible for injections of specialised nerve cells, designed to enable electrical signals to travel between the brain and the rest of the body. When the cells were administered to rats that had lost control of their hind legs, they regained the ability to walk and run, although with a limp.

As a Phase I trial, the study by Geron will primarily assess the safety of the treatment, which has been under development by Geron Corp. for nearly a decade. Scientists, doctors and patients said they were most eager to see whether low doses of the cells would produce any therapeutic benefit.

Embryonic stem cells are coveted by researchers because they theoretically have the ability to grow into any kind of cell in the body. Even if the experimental therapy in spinal cord therapy doesn't make paralyzed patients walk again, it could still substantially improve their quality of life.

Regenerating Spinal Cord Neurons

To treat spinal cord injuries, scientists first needed to reverse the damage to oligodendrocytes, cells that insulate nerve fibers with myelin so that signals can be transmitted to and from the brain. The hard part was figuring out the complex combination of growth factors and other chemicals that would turn stem cells into oligodendrocyte progenitor cells that could make new myelin.

When this method was tested on rats, seven days after the rat's injury, scientists injected the rats at the site of the injury with the progenitor cells. After four weeks, the rats could walk, run and stand on their hind legs, and their coordination had fully recovered, UC Irvine researchers spent two years studying hundreds of rats to make sure the injections were safe. Pure embryonic stem cells tend to grow into tumors, but the rats showed no such signs for a year after treatment. Blood and urine tests turned up none of the chemicals that would signal a toxic reaction.

Embryonic Stem Cell Therapy Clinical Trials

Geron plans to start a Phase I multi-center trial that is specifically designed to assess the safety and tolerability of GRNOPC1 in spinal cord injury patients with "complete" American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) grade A subacute thoracic spinal cord injuries.

The selected patients eligible for the Phase I trial must have documented evidence of functionally complete spinal cord injury with a neurological level of T3 to T10 spinal segments and agree to have GRNOPC1 injected into the lesion sites between seven and 14 days after injury.

If the cells are administered sooner, they could be damaged by inflammation from the injury. If doctors wait too long, there might be too much scar tissue for the cells to find room to grow,

Patients will be given a low-dose anti-rejection drug for 60 days to ensure their bodies don't reject the GRNOPC1 cells, even though research indicates that the cells won't be recognized by the human immune system.

IPHREHAB: Spinal Cord Injury : Quadriplegic and Paraplegic Injuries

IPHREHAB

Spinal Cord Injury : Quadriplegic and Paraplegic Injuries

Paraplegic and quadriplegic (tetraplegic) are terms used to describe the medical condition, for a person who has been paralysed due to a spinal cord injury. This classification depends on the level and severity of a persons paralysis, and how it affects their limbs.

This  provides patient information about acute spinal cord injuries, as well as treatment, symptoms, information on long term rehabilitation issues and peer support, to help improve the quality of life of those affected by a spinal cord injury.

What is a Spinal Cord Injury ?

A spinal cord injury (SCI) is typically defined as damage or trauma to the spinal cord that in turn results in a loss or impaired function resulting in reduced mobility or feeling.

Typical common causes of damage to the spinal cord, are trauma (car/motorcycle accident, gunshot, falls, sports injuries, etc), or disease (Transverse Myelitis, Polio, Spina Bifida, Friedreich's Ataxia, etc.). The resulting damage to the spinal cord is known as a lesion, and the paralysis is known as quadriplegia or quadraplegia / tetraplegia if the injury is in the cervical (neck) region, or asparaplegia if the injury is in the thoracic, lumbar or sacral region.

The spinal cord injury level is usually refered to alpha numerically, relating to the affected segment in the spinal cord, ie, C4, T5, L5 etc.

It is possible for someone to suffer a broken neck,or a broken back without becoming paralysed. This occurs when there is a fracture or dislocation of the vertebrae, but the spinal cord has not been damaged.

What is a Complete and Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury

There are typically two types of lesions associated with a spinal cord injury, these are known as a complete spinal cord injury and an incomplete spinal cord injury. A complete type of injury means the person is completely paralysed below their lesion. Whereas an incomplete injury, means only part of the spinal cord is damaged. A person with an incomplete injury may have sensation below their lesion but no movement, or visa versa. There are many types in incomplete spinal cord injuries, and no two are the same.

Such injuries are known as Brown Sequard Syndrome, Central Cord Syndrome, Anterior Cord Syndrome and Posterior Cord Syndrome.

What is Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation

Someone with a spinal cord injury will have a long road of rehabilitation ahead of them, usually at a spinal cord injury rehabilitation centre or spinal injury unit, and it is important that they keep their sense of humor on their bad days to help them maintain a positive attitude.

Generally, paraplegics will be in hospital for around 5 months, where as quadriplegics can be in hospital for around 6 - 8 months, whilst they undergo rehabilitation. Both paraplegics and quadriplegics should have some kind of rehabilitation and physiotherapy before they are discharged from hospital, to help maximise their potential, or help them get used to life in a wheelchair, and to help teach techniques which make everyday life easier.

Disabled sports, and wheelchair based sports can be an excellent way to build stamina, and help in rehabilitation by giving confidence and better social skills. The ultimate reward for many disabled sportsmen and women, is to win at the paralympic games, which will be coming to London in 2012.

Spinal Cord Injury Cure and Treatment

A cure for long term paralysis is still some years in the future, but clinical trials are taking place with Olfactory Ensheathing Glial (OEG) cells and Embryonic Stem Cell based Therapy.

and conservative treatment via physiotherapy and rehabilitation approaches.

Paraplegic and Quadriplegic Discussion Forum

If you have any spinal cord injury related questions, please visit our discussion forums and join in on the many topics there. We will do our best to help you, or at the very least, put you in contact with someone who can if we can't. The discussion forum is intended to be a free flow of information between spinally injured people, carers, and their friends, and everyone is welcome.

Even if you don't have any questions, take a look at the forum anyway, as you may be able offer help and advice to others who have questions.

Quadriplegic, Tetraplegic, Paraplegic and it's Definition

Quadraplegic is derived from two separate words from two different languages, Latin and Greek. The word “Quadra”, meaning “four” which is derived from latin, relates to the number of limbs. “Plegic”, is derived from the Greek word “Plegia”, meaning paralysis.

Put the two together, and you have “Quadraplegia”.

“Tetra” is derived from the Greek word for “Four”. “Para” is derived from the Greek word for "two" Hence: Tetraplegic and Paraplegic.

In Europe, the term for 4 limb paralysis has always been tetraplegia. The Europeans would never dream of combining a Latin and Greek root in one word.

In 1991, when the American Spinal Cord Injury Classification system was being revised, the definition of names was discussed. The British are more aware of Greek versus Latin names. Since Plegia is a greek word and quadri is Latin, the term quadriplegia mixes language sources. Upon review of the literature, it was recommended that the term tetraplegia be used by the American Spinal Cord Association so that there are not two different words in English referring to the same thing.