Spinal Cord Injury Essay

There are many different types of stem-cells which can be implanted in patients to regenerate or replace the damaged or abnormal cells caused by not only diseases like Parkinson's but also Alzheimer's and spinal cord injuries (2). A specific example in relation to Parkinson's is the harvesting of embryonic stem cells. These human embryonic stem cells can be transplanted into the brain to replace and create dopamine neurons. The controversy is in how one can obtain these stem cells. During fertilization, in humans, the embryo is hollow and contains cells that eventually develop into a fetus (1). Researchers have discovered, as recently as 1998, that the cells in the embryo contain all

It is a well known fact that millions of people suffer from accidents that leave them paralyzed for life. When stuck in a wheelchair forever, life can look very bleak. However, there is hope for these victims. Although it is controversial, stem cells offer the answer to not only broken spinal cords but to many other injuries.

While true spinal cord trauma is a devastating injury its actual incidence is extremely low. In a study that examined one million trauma victims, only 2% had true spinal cord damage and of that 2%, only 1% had neurological deficits of any kind. Moreover, there is little data to suggest that our efforts at spinal immobilization are even effective. (Santa Cruz County EMS Integration Authority, 2012, para. 2)

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can be dated back to the Egyptains, “who described it as an ailment not to be treated” (Sarhan, Saif, & Saif, 2012 p .319). SCI victims had no hope for a normalized future and were confined to wheelchairs and experienced poor survival rates because of the demands of care. Advancements in emergency care and rehabilitation practices increase neurological function to the spine which has increased the SCI victim’s changes of survival and return to normal locomotion. The spinal column can be divided into “31 segments” and “comprise seven cervical, twelve thoracic, five lumbar and five sacral vertebral segments” which protect the spinal cord (Sarhan, et al. p. 319 & 320). The nerves of the spinal column relay biological information to and from the brain by ascending and descending tracts. A SCI occurs when acute trauma is generated to the spinal cord. Significant pathology and pathophysiology damage blocks communication between the brain and the rest of the body. A person’s motor skills, autonomic functions, and sensations are affected by the initial injury. The higher the injury occurs on the spinal column, the more dysfunctional the person may become. “The primary injury determines a given patient’s neurologic grade on admission and thereby is the strongest prognostic indicator” (Dumont, Okonkwo, Verma, Hurlbert, Boulos, Ellegala, & Dumont, 2001 p. 254). Secondary injuries can occur from vascular, cellular, and/or biochemical changes at the injury site.

This paper will speak of, women with spinal cord injury (SCI) and the changes in their sexual function in both physical and emotional. It is common for women with spinal cord injury to be unsure as to whether or not they can give or receive sexual pleasure. Some people may experience a loss of self-satisfaction, confidence and self-worth. As time continues to pass, women who experience spinal cord injury begin to express great appreciation for sexuality. This paper will explain the opportunities for sexual exploration among disabled women, particularly the young, were it can be very limited. I will cover the general reduction in life choices and its impact on self-esteem, which in turn affects sexuality by making the tendency of a woman with

When you hear the term ‘spinal cord injury’ you often associate this with something permanent, irreversible and extremely detrimental to the life of the individual affected. Recent studies into the application of induced pluripotent stem cells have found a way to potentially cure this condition, with the grafting of iPS cells to the human spine. It is impossible to argue with the results of recent research studies, which clearly demonstrate its capability to treat this condition. However, there is still some way to go until these studies can be applied to the treatment of humans, furthermore there are still many obstacles that must be overcome before research can proceed to the next level. iPS cells have the potential to differentiate

Lindsay Lyon, a graduate from the Indiana University of Bloomington and editor of the U.S. News and World Report, wrote an article about eight diseases that embryonic stem cells have been proven to cure. In her article, “Stem Cells: 10 Diseases They May- or May Not- Cure”, she discusses how embryonic stem cells helped a paralyzed individual regain some feeling and have some control over their lower extremities. She says that the “...objective was to help people with spinal cord injuries…” (1). Embryonic stem cells helped paralyzed people and now they can somewhat move which is greater from not moving at all.

From a statistical information from the World Health Organization (WHO), patients who suffer from spinal cord injury (SCI) are around 250,000-500,000 people every year \cite{who2013}. An incidence of SCI mostly occurs from the unpreventable cause such as falls, traffic accidents, sports, and violence. SCI sufferers in males are higher than females at least 2 times. However, the major cause of SCI is the accidents \cite{who2013}. Consequently, we cannot certainly prevent or control numbers of SCI patients. SCI is the injury of the nervous system which can lead to permanent neurological deficits. A disruption of impulse conduction is a cause of non-functional body depending upon an injured level. Classification of SCI consists of 2 phases that are an acute phase and chronic phase

Researchers from Rush University Medical Center are studying a novel approach to treating these spinal cord injuries. The new therapy uses stem cells to treat the spinal cord within 14-30 days of the injury. The stems cells are derived from human embyronic stem cells. They contain progenitor cells that support nerve cells and can potentially restore nerve function. Progenitor cells are cells that, like stem cells, can differentiate to form certain kinds of

As stated previously, stem cells can replace damaged, lost, or diseased cells with new cells. During a heart attack, a coronary artery is blocked preventing any blood flow to the heart muscle which causes damage. After a heart attack, stem cells are inserted into the heart where they migrate to the spot of the attack. Here, they regenerate and transform into heart muscle cells, repairing the caused damaged. Dr. David A. Steenblock, who has had many years of experience with treating patients with stem cells, accounts specific treatments, “With my participation, we also carried out an open-label pilot study in Mexico during 2004 in which 8 children with cerebral palsy were treated with a subcutaneous injection of 1.5 million CD34+/AC133 umbilical cord stem cells” (Steenblock). From this study, “we also documented a partial resolution of cortical blindness in a 5-year-old boy with optic nerve hypoplasia” (Steenblock). This shows that stem cells have the potential to cure certain blindness. Stem cells have been used to treat Parkinson’s disease. Stem cells can be placed in the brain of a patient who has this disease and differentiate into new healthy neurons. Also, these neural specific stem cells can destroy cancer cells growing in brain tumors. Michael J. Fox, a famous actor who suffers from this disease, has fought hard to promote stem cell research to help the

From this investigation it can be seen that there is much uncertainty around the subject of spinal immobilisation. The assessment of cervical spine injuries in a pre-hospital context is primarily based upon the hospital based NEXUS and Canadian C-Spine Rule criteria. Recent research has shown that there are risks associated with spinal immobilisation and that there is insufficient evidence to prove or disprove its effectiveness. Relating this information back to the case profile it is clear to see that the paramedics assessed the patient using the NEXUS criteria. Their decision of collaring the patient based upon the mechanism and non-severe midline pain is more associated with the Canadian C-Spine Rule criteria. The use of a scoop stretcher

The second article I chose to summarize discusses the rehabilitation process on a rat with a spinal cord injury. The method they used to rehabilitate the rats spinal cord was by electrically stimulating neurons that would normally be stimulated if the rats spinal cord was not damaged. The whole purpose of the study was to find a way to help people who are experiencing spinal cord damage which can severely limit the way a person carries out day to day activities. The article states that before now other rehabilitation efforts helped some but not enough to allow the person experiencing the injury to recover. How the electrical stimulation works is, electrical excitation is given to the parts of the undamaged spinal cord of the rat, this then

Many spinal cord injuries (SCI) patients are suffering from the impairment of impulse conduction and they are unable to carry out their activities of daily living. Rehabilitation becomes an important role in enhancing motor recovery and minimizing the deficits of their movement function. The goal of this research is to deliver natural gait behavior of a rat through active robotics and intelligent system for the SCI Sprague-Dawley rat. The advance of this research is not only the rehabilitation novel system but also the regenerative medicine novel method from the cooperation of school of chemical and biomedical engineering (SCBE). In order to reach this goal, the first design of robotic module which composes of a body weight support system, treadmill for training motor functions and five bar linkage for driving rat's ankle is built to do a preliminary test with the spinal cord injury rats which are totally transected at T9-T10 of the spinal cord.

The deformation in the structure of spinal cord after an injury causes the conduction of impulse to be disrupted and the body functions are lost. This happens relying on the severity of the injury. There are different devices which have been developed or are under development to restore the body functions after a spinal cord injury. Neuroprosthetic treatment has a promising future and it is a technology which can be used to restore motor and autonomic functions and also to get the sensory feedback. Described here are the neuroprostheses which are currently in different stages of development be it preclinical, commercialization or testing and it involoves functional electrical stimulators, epidural and intraspinal microstimulation, bladder neuroprosthesis, and cortical stimulation for restoring sensation. Following the brief background of the SCI and neuroprosthesis is the chronology of the developments related to neuromuscular excitation. The electrical stimulation in the form of functional electrical stimulation (FES) is discussed in detail which can help facilitate and improve upper/lower limb mobility along with other body functions lost due to injury. The applications and the future directions are

One of the many diseases or injuries that is being treated by embryonic stem cells is Spinal Cord Injury. Spinal cord injuries happens do to a disease or a trauma on the spine leaving the person with pain in the injured spot or totally paralyzed depending on the case. Stem cells are being used to examine if the cells that are found in the spinal cord, which are hard to replicate since they are mainly nerve cells that connect with the brain, can be replaced by embryonic stem cells. By injecting an individual, with either an injury or a disease, in the spinal cord scientist are hoping for the embryonic cells to repair the connections between each cell and also for the stem cells to develop into