Regional updates in category: Spinal Cord Injuries

Simply knowing the effects an increase in body temperature can have on someone with a spinal cord injury can help determine the effects that injury will have. Persons suffering SCI are prone to hyperthermia; however, many physicians have turned to treatments of induced hyperthermia in order to limit its effects.

This is a remarkable story. Toni Greetan, an 18 year old student currently attending Bentonville High School, took grievous damage to her spine when she, as the passenger in the back of the car, got in a wreck. Although conscious, she has no recollection of the crash.

Note: see also category Head & Brain Injuries. Brain injury is a major cause of death and disability of people under age 45 and a significant medical/legal...

The American Physical Therapy Association has released a study showing that heavy backpacks worn by school children can cause back and spinal injuries. The study was conducted by Mary Ann Wilmarth of Northwestern University. According to Wilmarth, injury can occur when a child, in trying to adapt to a heavy load, uses faulty postures such as arching the back, bending forward, twisting, or...

Dave Denniston, a former NCAA Champion from Auburn University and USA National Swim Team member is still recovering and healing from a tragic snow sledding accident on February 6th, 2005, that left him paralyzed from the waist down after suffering a spinal cord injury."Spinal fluid flow has been restored quicker than expected. Other than that, it has been hell having to lay on my side and not...

A new study by researchers at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital has shown that the number one cause of spinal cord injuries in children is from car accidents. Most of the children were not wearing a seatbelt at the time."Motor vehicle accidents are by far the No. 1 cause of pediatric spinal cord injury within the U.S., accounting for more than 55% of cases," write the researchers. They add...

A 3-year-old paralyzed Kentucky boy has learned to walk again after trying a therapy that was financed by the Christopher Reeve Foundations' Neuro-Recovery Network. "The spinal cord itself has a great capacity to learn, to remember, to forget and to make decisions," Harkema said. "And the spinal cord can do that even when it's disconnected from the brain."The therapy re-teaches the spinal cord...

A settlement has been reached this month in a lawsuit between a 17-year-old gymnast and the gym where she suffered a paralyzing spinal cord injury last year. The details of the settlement are sealed. Circuit Judge W. Lowell Bray Jr. signed off on the agreement this month.The settlement with /suncoast Gymnastics Academy Inc. can could aid funding for the parents of Samantha Slusak to help with...

In a recent study from Thomas Jefferson University in Pittsburgh, 332 cases of thoraic and lumbar surgeries were reviewed for complication rates. Extrememely overweight and obese patients were much more likely to suffer complications such as wound infections, blood clots, heart problems and deep vein thrombosis. As the body mass index (BMI) increased over 30 the incidence of complications...

A study at Johns Hopkins University has revealed that it may be possible to regrow nerves after severe spinal cord injuries. The findings are good news for injuries involving arm trauma in which nerves are torn from the spinal cord. Advancements in the research may prevent the need for amputation in the case of such injuries.The researchers treated experimental nerve injuries in rats with an...

According to the Arizona Governor's Council on Spinal and Head Injuries, in the United States, about 10,000 people each year suffer from a spinal cord injury. The Governor's office defines a spinal cord injury as, a severance or injury to the spinal cord, which may result in partial or total paralysis of the arms, legs or both and may also impair vital functions.The Governor's Council suggests...

The title of the correspondence in a medical journal was not particularly dramatic or catchy. The Evidence for Spinal Immobilization: An Estimate of the Magnitude of the Treatment Benefit, Annals of Emergency Medicine, Volume 48 • Number 2 • August 2006 But, it attracted my attention because of the number of spinal cord injuries experienced by my clients over the years. And, because of...

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is most often caused by motor vehicle accidents. That is the primary reason our firm has an MD Neurosurgeon on its staff. Our clients with SCI require special handling and special knowledge. We also make use of extensive online medical libraries of specialized journals. One of these libraries is MDConsult.com which also provides very focused clinical topic tours on...

Wise Young, Chrisoper Reeve's doctor, spoke recently at a rehab institute in Connecticut. His speech focused on the advancement in reasearch and treatment of spinal cord injuries since Reeve's horse-riding accident in 1995.Most of his talk, titled "Stem Cells and Spinal Injury Repair," centered on advancements in spinal cord injury research since 1995. Much research focuses on getting axons,...