Myelopathy Research Paper

There are many types of spinal cord injuries (SCI). Patients with SCI can symptoms that range from mild neurologic impairment (such as numbness and tingling of extremities or neck pain) to devastating total body paralysis depending on the extent of damage and where in the spinal cord the damage occurs. Management of airway, breathing and circulation are key with SCI patients, as well as immediate immobilization. With proper care and intervention, chances of survival are greatly improved.

When it affects your neck, it takes place in the top seven vertebrae in your spine, known as the cervical spine. Over time, or if you suffer an injury, your discs can break down. Oftentimes, the proteins contained within the disc space can cause a good amount of inflammation, which can result in pain, tingling, and numbness in your neck, shoulders, arms, and even hands.

Cervical degenerative disc disease is a common cause of neck pain and radiating arm pain. It develops when one or more of the cushioning discs in the cervical spine starts to break down due to wear and tear. There may be a genetic factor that predisposes some people to more rapid wear. Injury may also contribute and sometimes can cause the development of the degenerative changes. When cervical degenerative disc disease becomes indicated, the pain might develop slowly over time or appear suddenly. The signs can range from mild annoying neck aches to debilitating pain, numbness, and/or weakness that radiates into the arm and hand.

There are 13,000 people diagnosed each year with Myelodysplastic syndrome in America. Robin Roberts is just one of those many people (American Cancer Society).

Another possible cause of neck pain that could have long-term implications, if not treated immediately, is pain caused by the onset of arthritis or other types of degenerative bone and joint diseases. When left untreated, this type of pain can expedite the degenerative process, hurrying the onset of limited mobility. Additionally, untreated degenerative joint disease that is left untreated will also lead to unbearable pain that worsens as time progresses, subsequently requiring the use of pain medications to help the individual to effectively manage their

What is cancer? This is an important question that will help people to understand the severity of this affliction. Cancer occurs from abnormal cell growth in the human body. When this happens tumors may form. Tumors are a mass of cells that continue to expand. These tumors may be benign. This means they will not spread through the body. Though, the tumors may be malignant which means they may spread to other areas of the body in an invasive manner. These malignant tumors have the potential to cause serious complications and even death. It is these tumors that are cancerous.

Individuals with a T1 spinal cord injury are at risk for developing osteoporosis in the long bones of the lower extremities due to disuse of the legs. Although controversial, some believe the onset of osteoporosis can be slowed by daily standing routines using a standing frame (p. 538). It is common for individuals to become spastic below the level of the spinal cord injury. Individuals with a T1 spinal cord injury often experience spasticity in the lower extremities. Spasticity is not always a bad thing. Some amount of spasticity may actually be functional for individuals with a spinal cord injury and can assist in bed mobility and range of motion. However, severe spasticity is not functional and medicines are usually prescribed to combat the symptoms of severe spasticity (p.

Myelofibrosis is a bone marrow disorder that leads to a disruption of the body’s ability to produce normal healthy blood cells. A rare form of chronic leukemia, the disease often worsens over time and may cause some patients to develop more serious types of leukemia. Conversely, other people have myelofibrosis and go for years without noticing any symptoms.

Low blood counts are a key feature of myelodysplastic syndrome which is the reason for the many symptoms these patients experience. The three types of cytopenia that people with Myelodysplastic Syndrome experience are anemia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia which are all low blood cell counts of the three blood cells. Cytopenias can cause anemia, the inability to fight off infections, easy bruising, and spontaneous bleeding. This can be due to the lack of blood cells in the blood stream, but also from dysplasia of the blood cells from the disease. If the cell is deformed, it may not be able to provide the same function as a healthy cell, resulting in the same effect as having cytopenia. Myelodysplastic syndrome is a gradual process and is

Myeloma is a cancerous disease whose cause is plasma cells, which are one of the four major components that make up blood in a human body. Manufacture of the plasma takes place in the bone marrow and the main function of the plasma is help the body fight infections. Multiple myeloma is another name for myeloma in fact it is the more recognized name. The plasma of a healthy human body is responsible for the production of antibodies, which fight disease-causing infections. The plasma of a diseased human body with myeloma causes the uncontrollable multiplication of these plasma cells. The myeloma affects these plasma cells to extent that they start to produce one antibody, which is nonfunctioning

Traditionally, spinal problems are believed to always have specific patho-anatomic diagnoses just like other pathological conditions such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, etc. Since the articles about cervical (Boden 1990)and lumbar spine (Boden 1990 and Jensen 1994) and demonstrating multiple imaging pathologies were found in pain-free individuals, and about 65% increase of spine care cost from 1997 to 2005 has produced worse health outcomes despite imaging technological advances (Martin et al 2008). This has led to a paradigm shift that between 70-90% of neck and back problems is actually non-specific in nature (Deyo et al 2008?). The non-specific nature of neck/back pain does not mean that they all have the same clinical features. For example, the patient’s experience of pain can have different neurophysiologic pain mechanisms at work that result in substantially different clinical and financial

Sadasivan et al. detailed 22 patients (average age 50.8 years) with symptom durations averaging 6.3 years before the diagnosis of CSM with an average age of 50.8 years. This study specify nonhomogeneous sample without objective follow up over variable duration. The author concluded that CSM may progress over years with profound gait abnormality. Gait eventually involved in 100%.

Spinal muscular atrophy is a genetic disease that affects a part of the nervous system that controls voluntary muscle movement. Spinal muscular atrophy involves the loss of nerve cells called motor neurons in the spinal cord, which may also be known as motor neuron disease. The motor neurons receive “signals” from the brain to the spinal cord, and then they in turn send signals to our muscles. When these signals do not transmit properly, this is what causes spinal muscular atrophy. It is the number one genetic cause for newborn deaths. There are four types of spinal muscular atrophy, based on age the patient is, and the highest physical milestone achieved by the patient. Type 1 also known as Werdnig Hoffman disease, Type 2 also known

“Symptoms of a spinal cord injury depend on the severity of the injury and its

It is rare that patients with OPLL in the cervical spine progress to quadriplegia within a short duration without any trauma. Westwick et al have reviewed the cases of rapidly progressive myelopathy caused by cervical disc herniation, included 4 cases with OPLL in the cervical spine. Two of these cases received a cervical massage or manipulation, and other 2 cases had a neck pain during several months, prior to the onset of paralysis[15-18]. These reports have suggested that the pathology of disc herniation is relevant to the presence of OPLL [15, 18-20]. Several cases of acute myelopathy or paralysis caused by cervical disc herniation, which is also rare, have been reported. On their assessment, the pathology of the spinal cord damage is not