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Spinal Cord Trauma News
Related terms: Spinal Cord Injury, Paraplegia, Quadriplegia, Tetraplegia, Paraplegic
That Motorcycle Helmet Just May Save Your Spine
Posted 13 Mar 2018 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, March 13, 2018 – A good helmet not only protects your skull if you crash your motorcycle, it can also reduce the risk of cervical spine injuries, researchers found. The finding counters claims by some that helmets do not protect against such injuries and may even increase the risk of injury, according to a team from the department of neurological surgery at the University of Wisconsin ...
Nerve Stimulation Pulls Patient From 15-Year Vegetative State
Posted 26 Sep 2017 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Sept. 25, 2017 – By stimulating a nerve that stretches from the abdomen to the brain, French researchers have restored a significant measure of consciousness to a brain-damaged 35-year-old car accident victim who had spent 15 years in a vegetative state. This case may change conventional thinking about vegetative states. Currently, it is generally believed that if someone is in a ...
JFK's Long, Silent Struggle With Back Pain
Posted 11 Jul 2017 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, July 11, 2017 – Contrary to his youthful, vibrant public image, former President John F. Kennedy privately battled chronic, debilitating back pain much of his life. A new report chronicles JFK's pain issues and the many treatments he received throughout the years. The report includes private details – from multiple failed spinal surgeries and narcotic injections, to use of a back brace ...
Music May Soothe the 'Savage Beast' of Post-Op Pain
Posted 7 Apr 2017 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, April 7, 2017 – Patients recovering from back surgery often struggle with pain and anxiety, but new research shows that music therapy may help ease their discomfort. Medication is commonly used to manage pain for people who've had surgery to treat a spinal problem. For the new study, researchers from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City provided 30 patients who'd had spinal fusion ...
Brain-Computer Link Restores Some Movement to Quadraplegic Man
Posted 29 Mar 2017 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, March 28, 2017 – Grabbing a mug of coffee, having a sip. It's something most people would do without thinking, every day. But for Bill Kochevar, it's a life-changing move. That's because Kochevar, 56, lost all movement below his shoulders eight years ago in a bicycling accident. But now he's the first quadriplegic in the world to successfully use a dual-implant technology to regain some ...
Brain Chip Helps Paralyzed 'Type' With Their Mind
Posted 21 Feb 2017 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Feb. 21, 2017 – A microchip implanted in the brain helped paralyzed patients "type" on a computer via mind control, at the fastest speeds yet seen in such experiments. It's the latest step forward in research on "brain-computer interface" systems. Scientists have been studying the technology, with the aim of giving patients with paralysis or limb amputations more independence in their ...
Specially Designed Video Game Might Ease 'Phantom Limb' Pain
Posted 2 Dec 2016 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Dec. 1, 2016 – Amputees who experience what is known as phantom limb pain may benefit from playing a virtual reality game that simulates the movement of missing limbs, a small study suggests. "Phantom limb pain is a difficult condition to treat that can seriously hinder patients' quality of life," said study lead author Max Ortiz Catalan. He is an assistant professor at Sweden's ...
Scientists Restore Leg Movement in Paralyzed Monkeys
Posted 9 Nov 2016 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 9, 2016 – Using a wireless brain-spinal connection, scientists report they restored leg movement in paralyzed monkeys. This is the first time this type of system – called a neural prosthetic – has restored walking movement directly to the legs of nonhuman primates (a pair of rhesus macaques), according to the researchers. "The system we have developed uses signals recorded from ...
Nerve Stimulation Restored Sense of Touch to Arm Amputees
Posted 26 Oct 2016 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 26, 2016 – Direct stimulation of the nervous system produced realistic sensations of touch in two arm amputees, researchers report. Both men lost their arms after traumatic injuries. They received implanted devices containing electrodes that were attached to the nerves of the arm. These nerves would normally carry signals to and from the hand. "If you want to create a dexterous ...
Long Spaceflight Seems to Weaken Spinal Muscles
Posted 25 Oct 2016 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Oct. 25, 2016 – After months in space, the muscles supporting an astronaut's spine shrink, a new study finds. And, the muscles don't return to normal even after the astronaut is back on Earth for several weeks, researchers from the University of California, San Diego, discovered. But there were no changes in astronauts' spinal disc height, according to the study. The researchers ...
Trauma Patients Not to Blame for Opioid Epidemic: Study
Posted 20 Oct 2016 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 19, 2016 – Patients who survived major trauma may not be a significant factor in the U.S. opioid epidemic, a new study suggests. Almost 75 percent of major trauma patients who were prescribed narcotic painkillers such as OxyContin and Percocet had stopped using them a month after leaving the hospital. And only 1 percent were still taking the drugs on a prescription basis a year ...
Brain Chips Help Paralyzed Man Regain Sense of Touch Using Robotic Arm
Posted 13 Oct 2016 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Oct. 13, 2016 – Picking up a delicate piece of cake is very different from picking up a sturdy box of cake mix. And that owes to your sense of touch – you know from touching each that one is much more fragile than the other. This has been one of the great hurdles to creating a realistically functioning prosthetic arm, but it's a challenge that researchers in Pittsburgh are starting to ...
'Brain Training' Helps 8 Paralyzed People Regain Some Movement
Posted 11 Aug 2016 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Aug. 11, 2016 – A regimen of brain training has restored partial sensation and muscle control in the legs of eight people paralyzed by spinal cord injuries, researchers report. The step-by-step training appears to jump-start the connection between brain and body through the use of virtual reality walking simulations, specially designed exoskeletons and tactile feedback, said senior ...
For Aging Blacks, 'Golden Years' Often Marred by Disability
Posted 10 Aug 2016 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 10, 2016 – While Americans are living longer than ever, a new study finds there's still an important racial gap in health: Older black people are more likely than older white people to live their final years with disabilities. "In 2011, at age 65, whites could expect to be free of disability for 15 out of their nearly 20 remaining years of life – about three-fourths of the ...
Better Care Could Cut Deaths From Trauma by 20 Percent: Report
Posted 17 Jun 2016 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, June 17, 2016 – Improved care could prevent one in every five deaths currently lost to traumatic injuries in the United States, a new federal report finds. Injuries from car crashes, gun violence, falls and other incidents remain the leading cause of death among Americans younger than 46, a committee from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine noted. Trauma's ...
