Autonomic Dysreflexia

This occurred because Allen’s spinal cord has decreased perfusion due to damage, and a broken vertebral bone. Also, there has been a disruptions of the sympathetic fibers of his autonomic nervous system therefore it can no longer stimulate the heart. Allen likely has spinal shock.

Jason Hendrix is a young 21 year old male, who was injured in a one vehicle motorcycle accident. On the scene of the accident he was found conscious and complaining of lower back pain. Emergency Personnel recognized it as a series spinal injury. The spinal cord allows neural pathways to and from the brain. The spinal cord is very delicate, therefore it is covered in meninges for protection. It contains many different aspects in order to function. The spinal cord has 4 different regions including the cervical spine, the thoracic spine, the lumbar spine and the sacral. With that said, Spinal reflex is produced by a single synapse between sensory axons and motor neurons. If the spinal cord endures any type of injury this is compromised. Any type

After researching about paraplegic and quadriplegic, it has been determined how they occur and in what parts of the body they affect. According to John Hopkins Medical, if a person suffers with paraplegic or quadriplegic, it is caused by damage to the spinal cord. To determine whether a person has a spinal injury, doctors will use clinical signs to help determine the severity of the injury. When the spinal cord has been injured, the patient might feel pain, and some disorders; such as motor or sensory. When this occurs, it allows the doctor to determine the cause of the injury, however; most spinal injuries are caused by traumatic accidents. The two

Autonomic dysreflexia is a clinical syndrome that develops in a patient who has neurological damage especially the ones with spinal cord injury (SCI) and develops hypertension. This is brought about by developing a confusing impulse from the bowel or bladder resulting in uncontrolled hypertension in a SCI patient. The SCI must be at the level of the sixth thoracic spine vertebrae (T6) and above for a patient to be at risk of developing dysreflexia. This syndrome develops when there is an imbalance of the autonomic nervous system. The imbalance leads the body in to systemic hypertension that may be life threatening (Robertson & Biaggioni, 2012). Hypertension may be uncontrolled and may result in targeted organ failure hence causing serious complications such as cerebral hemorrhage, myocardial infarction, pulmonary edema, retinal hemorrhage, renal insufficiency, seizures and even death.

Spinal cord injuries are characterized by two distinct injury phases. The primary injury phase is represented by all the tissue directly damaged at the time of injury. The damage seen in this phase is primarily shearing of cells, destruction of local vasculature, and severe disruption of spinal cord function. The secondary injury phase is characterized by inflammation of the injury site, immune-mediated tissue destruction, and edema formation at the lesion site. The nature of spinal cord injuries makes the damage done by the primary injury irreversible. The majority of therapeutic research is done with the intention of lessening the damage done during the secondary injury phase. One major complication faced by researchers trying to control the secondary injury phase is the localized destruction of vasculature. Without a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients, many of the cells in the spinal cord will begin to die rapidly, oftentimes releasing biological signals that encourage other cells to die as well. The uncontrolled movement of fluid into the lesion site causes the tissue to swell, further complicating the processes of rebuilding vasculature. The movement of immune

Summary: At the Mayo Clinic, researchers are doing an electrical stimulation on the spinal cord to help a patient whose legs are paralyzed. The electrical stimulation and intense physical therapy are what the researchers believe will help the patient stand again after three years of being paralyzed. Jered Chinnock is the patient and he injured his spinal cord at the sixth thoracic vertebrae. He could not move or feel anything lower than the middle of his back. Chinnock went through 22 weeks of therapy with three training sessions per week. This was to help him prepare his muscles to move again, so that they will be strong enough to handle the physical task of the spinal cord stimulation. After the 22-weeks therapy, it was time for the team

Although the physiology and function is somewhat different in rodents and human spinal cords there are many biological functions that are conserved in vertebrate animals (2). In many spinal cord injuries, rat models are employed to study cell death, inflammation, and regeneration (2). In surgical modeling, recapitulating the physiology is important to insure surgical techniques can be employed across species. Non-human primates contain spinal cords that are more like humans due to closer evolutionary distance (3). Using both model organisms can help to answer questions on the cellular level as well as the macroscopic concept of

Throughout my medical school, Neurological sciences have intrigued me most. First time I saw a human brain in gross anatomy I felt so thrilled. Being able to look n learn about one of the most complex humans organ was just exhilarating. I used to spend hours in the college library reading about neuroscience and other beginner’s concepts. During my medical school rotations, I was exposed to a wide range of neurological conditions. Being involved in care of such patients brought me a great sense of satisfaction. One such case that I vividly remember is Mrs T suffering from acute stroke. When I first saw her, she was lying on the bed, one half of her body paralyzed. I read his casefile and learned more about the patient. She was a successful lawyer, and overnight her life had changed following the stroke. But under the care of my amazing attending, within few months following the treatments and extensive physical therapy she regained 60% of her functioning and was expected to improve even more over course of time. This whole experience of her reclaiming her day to day life was an incredibly satisfying

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome is a condition that is rarely recognized by medical professionals. At the moment, no cure has been found for this condition only medication to control the symptoms. Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome is an autonomic dysfunction that presents with symptoms of orthostatic intolerance, such as fatigue, dizziness, headaches, nausea, palpitations, presyncope and syncope, which are generally relieved by lying down (Busmer 16).Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome has remarkable effect on a person’s life, the symptoms or limitations of daily activity can vary from something mild to something severe. This condition can have a widespread effect of the body systems. For instance Postural Orthostatic

Spastic dysarthria includes a limited range of motion for the lips and tongue due to reduced muscle capacity. Sounds are more neutral, voice is harsher, and drooling is common. Speech is slow, forced, and blended. Bursts of acoustic energy may also occur during speech production.

in walking, and other delays of certain motor skills, compression of the spinal cord, and upper

One of my primary focuses was to find out how different literatures dealt with Dyslexia and how best to support the child. Dyslexia can be described from a number of different perspectives as we see in Ball et al (2007) who explain that it can be “how one learns (Cognition), what parts of the brain are involved (neurology), what genes are involved (genetics) and behaviour (p14). Their book entitled ‘Dyslexia: An Irish perspective’ is very relevant to my research as it gives a great insight into the history of the special education sector in Ireland. It also looks into some of the key debates that are facing the educational sector today.

The pain process starts out with a stimulus which activates somatosensory axons from the skin, muscles, or internal organs to enter the nervous system via spinal nerves. Axons that convey sharp localized information, like fine touch, ascend through the dorsal columns of the spinal cord, referred to as the fast pathway, to the nuclei in the lower medulla (3). From the medulla, the axons cross the brain and ascend through the medial lemniscus to the ventral posterior nuclei of the thalamus, the somatosensation receiver (bodily sensation). Axons from the thalamus project to the primary somatosensory cortex which are then relayed to the secondary somatosensory cortex. Conversely, axons that convey less localized information, like pain or temperature, ascend through the spinothalamic tract, the slow pathway, and terminate in the ventral posterior nuclei of the thalamus (3),(9). The end site for both of these pathways is in the somatosensory cortex.

When we touch a hot stove, it is detected by our sensory receptors and it sends a nerve impulse to our spinal cord via nerve fibres. When there is tissue damage, pain receptors are activated. Once a signal reaches the spinal cord, neurotransmitters are released. From the spinal cord, the signals go the brain and then the thalamus. It is then sent to the somatosensory cortex.

Five criteria must be met which includes authority, information, objectivity, ease of navigation and privacy and security policies. The website used for my research was www.christopherreeve.org. The website met the five criteria. Authority was displayed in several ways. The author, Judith Lubinsky is qualified as an expert in the spinal cord injury field. Judith is responsible for web production and social media for the website. The contact information and credentials for the author was clearly stated. Information is updated daily to keep readers informed of any changes. The information posted is accurate and appropriate for the intended audience. The author provides an unbiased comprehensive review of spinal cord injuries and management. The sponsor for the website is The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. The source of funding does not have an impact on the information provided. The website provides easy navigation with reliable information, treatment options, clinical trials and ways to get involved. The website provided clear privacy and security