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Pressure on spine cause problems

Chiropractors say that even small amounts of pressure on the nerves exiting the spine may lead to long-term health issues. A chiropractor will carefully examine the way your spine is aligned. The World Chiropractic Alliance now says that misalignments can lead to pressure on the nerves that exit the spine. And this pressure could be the cause of chronic problems.// The chiropractors c...

Effective Diagnosis Of Spinal Cord Injuries

Patients with spinal cord injuries could benefit from early magnetic resonance imaging, according to the findings of a new study. According to neuroscientists in Canada MRI technology could determine //if performing surgery would benefit patients. They say they found that trauma-induced spinal cord compression on MRIs predict a poorer neurological recovery. Surgery can relieve spinal cor...

Useful device makes spinal surgery safer

Spinal surgery has always been a major one involving many tedious procedures. A useful monitoring device has been accepted that assures that spinal surgery does not affect movements in the arms and legs.// Operating on tumours and other problems in the spine is risky, because the surgeon might separate some of the nerves that are needed to allow movement in the limbs. Researchers at the S...

Spine Surgeries becoming less painful

The number of people suffering from spine problems is on the rise; the most common of them being a herniated disc and spinal canal stenosis. Herniated disc is more common in the age group of 25 to 35 years while spinal canal stenosis is common among// older people. Hitherto, both these disorders were treated through conventional spine surgeries which required an incision of about 12cms to...

New hope for spinal cord injury victims

A special report in the online edition of The Anatomical Record has put together a collection of articles on the subject of spinal cord injury repair in animals. Spinal cord injury affects millions of people and, until now, has left them with little hope of living a normal life. However, recent research has begun to suggest that maybe stem cells - primitive cells that can turn into specif...

Spinal Cord Patients Walk Again

Paralysis clearly means learning to give up many of the activities to which you are accustomed to doing. In many cases, that can mean not being able to go places that aren’t wheelchair accessible or even standing to get something off a shelf. Now, new research in Philadelphia brings paralyzed people a little closer to a normal life. With the push of a button, something amazing happens to...

Hope for Babies Born With Spinal Muscular Atrophy

One in 5,000 babies is born with SMA ( a terminal condition called spinal muscular atrophy ).// Eighty percent of those babies have a severe form of the disease. No treatment has shown effect against this disorder and these babies rarely live until their second birthday . Although children with SMA have many physical disabilities, they do score well on IQ tests. The pathology of SMA is s...

New Findings Could Reduce The Extent Of Spinal Cord Injuries

Neuro scientists say new findings in animals suggest a potential treatment to minimize disability after spinal cord and other nervous system injuries . "Our approach is based on a natural mechanism cells have for protecting themselves,// called the stress protein response," say specialists . Researchers say the goal of their work is to prevent or minimize the "secondary" cell death that...

Folic Acid Supplementation During Pregnancy Could Help Prevent Spina Bifida

Folic acid supplementation in early pregnancy can reduce up to 70 percent of spina bifida cases, according to a new study.// Spina bifida, a condition in which the neural tube (an embryonic form of the brain and spinal cord) fails to fuse. Spina bifida is a condition that involves lifelong medical management. It is also one of the most common malformations of human structure. Results sh...

Surgery of spine for back pain may not be cost effective

People who have been suffering from chronic lower back pain for more than a year are often considered// for costly surgical spine fusion. This is done when no other treatment seems to bring them any relief from the backache. A recent study in the British Medical Journal reveled that in the long run this may not be a cost effective procedure for people who do not have enough finance to sus...

Acrolein may be the key to halting spinal cord damage

Researchers at Purdue University may have isolated the substance most responsible// for the tissue damage that follows initial spinal cord injury, a discovery that could revolututionise treatments for a host of other neurodegenerative conditions. A research team led by Riyi Shi (REE-yee SHEE) has found that a chemical called 'acrolein', a known carcinogen, is present at high levels in...

Treatment May Be Possible For Degenerative Brain And Spinal Cord Disease

Researchers have found out a key protein that can block the degenerative process of the brain diseases //like Alzheimer’s disease and many other similar diseases. The study, published in the online version of the Journal of Neuroscience Research, shows how a protein called KDI tri-peptide (KDI) can block the harmful effects of a substance called glutamate that is present in all degener...

Titanium Rib Found To Be Effective In Treating Spinal Deformities In Children

Children born with spinal or chest wall deformities face many serious health risks, including premature death. Now, an experimental surgery gives these kids a new lease on life. Prior to the experimental device, // the only treatment was to fuse the spine, and the child would eventually end up with a chest cavity the size of a 1-year-old or a newborn, say specialists. The titanium rib i...

New Therapy Recommendations For Spinal Complications Of Cancer

A new study indicates that a combination of surgery and radiation yields better mobility, lower death rates in patients suffering from spinal cord compression. // Metastatic epidural spinal cord compression (MESCC) is a debilitating and common complication of cancer, occurring in 5 to 14 percent of cancer patients. Standard treatment for MESCC consists of corticosteroids and radiothera...

Cervical spinal injury patients may have more damage left undetected

Patients who come to the emergency room with cervical spinal injury may have more damage than what is detected. In a study, which is published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, say that CT imaging may be useful to detect such injuries in patients over and above the normal X-rays.// The study indicates that patients with a cervical spinal injury (CSI) may harbor additional spinal da...

New spinal surgery technique developed by UCSF Surgeon

Tumors from the cervical region that were previously thought unoperable can now be handled with ease. Thanks to the novel technique developed by surgeons at the USCF institute. // The technique uses advances in spinal instrumentation and reconstructive strategies to provide a direct approach to the removal of cervical spinal tumors with minimal, or no, neural manipulation. The technique...

Surgery to remove tumors in the spine

Christopher Ames, Neurosurgeon at University of California, San Francisco have developed a surgery method that uses standard and innovative devices to first remove and then reconstruct portions of the cervical spine in order to access tumors. // Tumors which are present in the bone of the cervix region are very difficult to operate. The neurosurgeon used a new technique called Lateral...

Inhibition of morphine tolerance by spinal melanocortin receptor blockade

Recent research suggests that the melanocortin system is an important component influencing the changes in the spinal neuronal plasticity observed after chronic morphine administration//. The chronic use of morphine is accompanied by the development of morphine tolerance, which is one of the major problems associated with opiate treatment. Possible modulation of opioid effects by melanoc...

Nerve regeneration for Spinal cord injuries

Scientists from University of California have developed new technique for regeneration of injured nerve cells which could help in the treatment of spinal cord injuries,// the researchers have got interesting results in the stimulation of nerve cells in laboratory rats, which has been reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Nerve cells has the capacity to grow w...

New device to help spinal cord injury cases walk

A new device developed at the University of Toronto stimulates the muscles of patients with spinal cord injuries, helping to increase the walking function in those with no hope of walking.// The university researchers have found that functional electrical stimulation (FES), a process that sends controlled bursts of electricity through the skin and into muscles, can help patients enhanc...

French Doctors Successfully Separate Twins Joined At Spine

Doctors in France have successfully operated on 15-month-old twins Mohamed and Souleymane, who were joined at the level of the spine. This is the first operation of its kind in France. // The surgery was performed on December 15 and follows in the steps of similar operations in Britain, South Africa and Canada. Dr Gabriel Lena, head of the pediatric neurosurgery division of the La Timon...

Child Sans Husband: Dream Come True For Spinster Women in UK

The Camden primary care trust in London has decided to offer free fertility treatment to unmarried women who wish to have children. The proposal for the free pilot scheme has been initiated just in time,// before the International Women’s Day that falls on March 8th. Although many fell that the move would destabilize traditional family values, those in want of such services fell that...

Disturbance in Serotonin Levels Result in Reduced Gasping In Kids with SIDS

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the primary cause of death for // children under the age of 1. Statistics show that about 3,000 infants die each year from SIDS. The exact cause of (SIDS) is unknown. Jan-Marino Ramirez, an associate professor of organismal biology and anatomy at the University of Chicago said that th...

Research demystifies treatment by manipulation of spine by chiropractors in the UK

Treatment of back and neck pain by spine manipulation appears of little use as per a study. This is done by osteopaths and chiropractors in the UK to relieve many different types of pain,// as well as conditions such as asthma and allergies. When 16 studies were reviewed it was concluded that there is little evidence to suggest that spinal manipulation is effective for treating any med...

JRRD Focuses On Issues Such As Spinal Cord Injury and Prosthetics

The current issue of the Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development (JRRD) mainly analyses articles related to spinal cord injury, bone mineral density, women's // sexuality, chronic pain and prosthetics research. Under the title that dealt with veterans who reported chronic pain associated with spinal cord injury the author of the study said that 76 % of participants (spinal co...

Hope After Spinal Cord Injuries

Research by University of Iowa professor, Richard Shields, Ph.D. can provide a ray of hope for a cure for patients with spinal cord injury// (SCI). Virtually every SCT patient foresees a bleak future with severe osteoporosis and muscle atrophy continually haunting him or her. Loss of bone mineral density up to the extent of 30 percent has often been demonstrated making the paralyzed lim...

Stem Cell Technology Gives Hope in Spinal Cord Injuries

Recent research using stem-cell technology in rats with spinal-cord injuries has allowed them to walk again within two weeks//. The results of the study show promise for people with traumatic spinal-cord injuries. According to lead author Dr. Stephen Davies, assistant professor of neurosurgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston the rats were given immature immune system support...

Novel Technique To Revolutionize Treatment Of Spinal Tumors

A new technique that could treat fractured vertebrae associated with spinal tumors has been developed by a radiologist// at the University of California. Fracture of the vertebrae is a common feature in 5 to 10 % of patients with malignant tumors of the spine. Wade Wong, D.O.F.A.C.R, UCSD professor of radiology, and San Diego clinician Bassem Georgy, M.D., partially removed spinal tum...

Octarms for robots for better grasping of objects

In the field of robotics the latest is that of the development of an analog to our hand which resembles and works in a similar way as that of tentacles or an elephant trunk. // It is said that these tentacles can grasp and grapple a wide variety of objects. Initially the robots could not do this and rely on mechanical gripping jaws. They were not good at grabbing or holding large or irreg...

Spine Gourd Variety Helpful For Diabetics Is Ready For Commercial Cultivation

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has identified Indira Kankoda I (RMF 37), a variety of spine gourd for commercial cultivation// in Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Orissa and Maharashtra. Known to be beneficial to diabetic people, this will be the first spine gourd variety identified for commercial cultivation. Spine gourd is a nutritious vegetab...

New Way To Combat Spinal Cord Injury during Aortic Surgery

According the study done by Roseborough et al., mitochondrial K-ATP channel opener, diazoxide, prevents ischemia-reperfusion injury in the rabbit spinal cord. //Spinal injuries are the common problems that occur during aortic surgery but surgery done to repair aortic aneurysms often results in neurological deficits. But the works of Roseborough et al has given new hopes to treat spinal co...

Regeneration After Spinal Cord Injury

More than 250,000 people in the U.S. are suffering from long-term spinal cord injuries, with more than 11,000 new occurrences taking place each year//. One study appearing in the July 12th issue of the Journal of Neuroscience appears to be on the right track towards providing evidence that a combination of treatments could lead to regeneration of nerve endings in spinal cord injured p...

Thai King to Undergo Spine Surgery

Buddhist monks and laymen gathered at temples throughout Thailand Thursday to pray for Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 78, //who was admitted earlier in the day to a Bangkok hospital to undergo an operation on his spine. Thousands of Buddhist temples nationwide staged hour-long prayers for the revered king, who was scheduled for back surgery Thursday night. More than 1,000 well-w...

Scientists Coax Nerve Fibers to Regrow After Spinal Cord Injury

In tests on rats, researchers at Johns Hopkins and the University of Michigan have developed a treatment that helps spinal cord nerves regrow after injury.// The findings will be published in the July 18 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study has implications for treating people who may face amputation of an arm after a violent injury in which nerves...

Aggresive Therapy Needed for Cervical Spinal Cord Injuries

Patients with cervical spinal cord injury who experience recurring problems with the heart slowing or stopping may need aggressive therapy to avoid further cardiovascular// problems and even death, according to researchers at Medical College of Georgia. A study subset of newly injured quadriplegics showed that less aggressive therapies, such as drugs and a pacemaker placed on top of...

Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury with Embryonic Stem Cells

Acute spinal cord injury can be treated by transplanting human embryonic stem cell without any harm, according to a recent study by UC Irvine researchers.// UCI neurobiologist Hans Keirstead and colleagues at the Reeve-Irvine Research Center found that rats with either mild or severe spinal cord injuries that were transplanted with a treatment derived from human embryonic stem cells su...

Brain Regulation Present Even In Spineless Creatures

At a meeting of scientists in Australia, University of Oregon biologist Nathan Tublitz revealed that research on moths, flies and cephalopods showed how brain regulation// is present even in spineless creatures. He also revealed that glutamate and FMRFamide-related peptides are the two brain chemicals that enable cuttlefish (cephalopod) to change skin color or skin patterns in just second...

Fines Paid By Speeding Motorists Used in Funding Spinal Cord Injury Research

The New York State Department of Health is using fines paid by speeding motorist to fund research on spinal cord injury, whose number-one cause nationwide is motor vehicle// accidents. The Spinal Cord Injury Research Program created in 1998 uses these fines to fund research, and three research projects at the University of Rochester Medical Center are among the programs funded this year...

Kyphoplasty Yields Good Long-Term Improvement for Spinal Fractures

In older adults with osteoporosis-related spinal fractures, a treatment called balloon kyphoplasty provides prompt and lasting improvement in pain, daily functioning, and quality of life.// Dr. Steven R. Garfin of University of California, San Diego, and other members of the Balloon Kyphoplasty Outcomes Group analyzed the outcomes of 155 patients with painful spinal fractures, called v...

Separation of Spinal Cord of Conjoined Twins Completed Successfully

The separation of the spinal cord of the conjoined twins from Wisconsin has been completed successfully by surgeons but a lot more work remains ahead of them.// The lead surgeon, Robert Keating, said “Things are going well. We feel optimistic about the preservation of neurological function.” However surgeons have decided not to separate the twins' shared tailbone temporarily b...