Two studies recently published in Cell Transplantation reveal that cell transplantation may be an effective treatment for spinal cord injury. Researchers in Spain harvested ependymal progenitor cells (stem cells found in adult tissues surrounding the ependymal canal of the spinal…
Year: 2014 (page 3)
First patient treated In Neuralstem Phase I spinal cord injury stem cell trial
Neuralstem, Inc. has announced that the first patient has been treated in the Phase I trial testing NSI-566 human neural stem cells in the treatment of chronic spinal cord injury at the UC San Diego School of Medicine. Read more…
StemCells, Inc. begins Phase II clinical trial in cervical spinal cord injury
Earlier this year, the StemCells Inc. completed enrollment in an open-label Phase I/II clinical trial in thoracic SCI using its proprietary HuCNS-SC® platform of human neural stem cells to treat 8 patients. Half of the patients transplanted had significant post-transplant…
Breathing 100% oxygen a few hours a day reduces neuropathic pain in spinal cord injuries
A Chinese study published in the journal Nature reports that patients who were exposed to pure oxygen via a non-rebreathing reservoir mask, for 1 or 4 h daily for 2 weeks, had reduced levels of neuropathic pain when compared to a control group.…
Restoration of function after spinal cord injury
Artificial connection from the brain to locomotion centre bypasses damaged spinal cord
A Japanese research group has successfully made an artificial connection from the brain to the locomotion center, bypassing the spinal cord with a computer interface. This research, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, allowed subjects to perform a walking-like behavior…
Australian Government investment in science reaches 30-year low
Science and innovation spending has fallen to 2.2 per cent of total budget expenditure this year, the lowest share since 1984-5, a Fairfax Media analysis has found. This is the third consecutive year government R&D spending has fallen as a share…
Remembering Ricky Banister
Our condolences goes out to Ricky Bannister’s family and friends. Ricky fractured his C5 vertebrae on the 15th April 2013 after a horse riding accident. After 1 year and 6 months of fighting severe health issues Ricky sadly passed away,…
MacArthur Lions Annual SpinalCure Golf Day 2014
The sun shone on the beautiful Camden Valley Resort golf course for this year’s SpinalCure golf day. The morning’s 4-person Ambrose competition was punctuated by the crack of another ball hammered down the fairway by Australian long drive champion Mark…
Prof Grégoire Courtine's electrical stimulation work closer to clinical trials
EPFL scientists have discovered how to control the limbs of a completely paralyzed rat in real time to help it walk again. Building on earlier work in rats, this new announcement is part of a more general therapy that could…