Spinal Cord Injury Essay

* Following a SCI, the first priority is often to help the patient develop as much possible strength in the

Spinal cord injuries can be very devastating. First we will discuss the spinal cord's structure and function. Then we will tell you how the spinal cord is most commonly injured, along with some statistics involved and some signs of spinal cord injury. We will explain some changes to the body after spinal injuries. Finally we will talk about some of the research in helping spinal cord injury victims.

Many of us have all heard the saying that a “lizard can lose its tail,” and bizarrely enough it will grow back. This was always considered impossible for humans, an idea belonging in the realm of science fiction, but now the regeneration of tissue is an extremely realistic possibility. Despite some opinions, this process does not happen naturally, or take place as cinematically as one might imagine. Over the past decade, there have been major advances in regenerative medicine, commonly known as stem cell research. Stem cells are undifferentiated cells within the body that have the capability to specialize into any tissue. They are most commonly found in cord blood, bone marrow, organ donations, placenta, and embryos . Stem cells are seen by some as a new miracle treatment, encouraging many countries to invest in their research.

There are about a quarter of a million people in the United States living with spinal cord injuries. In addition, between 7,600 and 10,000 new injuries occur each year. Nearly half of these new injuries will occur in young people between the ages of 16 and 30. As a person in this category, I have become very interested in the research to find a cure for spinal cord injuries and hope to share some of the information I found with you today. In order for you to fully understand the details I will be sharing with you, I'd like to begin with a

The recovery period after large scale injuries could be shortened. The effects are analyzed in an article that states, “True healing could occur thanks to the cloning of their own cells to help the recovery process” (“Pros and Cons” 5). Basically, the process of cloning healthy cells could be used as an aid in replenishing damage of unhealthy cells. This process, if it were to be actualized, could help recovery progress in anything from pulled muscles to the paralysis of an entire limb. In theory, the same research can be applied in other areas. If this technology is paired with stem cell research, it could result in a method of repairing physical damage. An article that focused on advances in biotechnology stated that “Another use of cloned stem cells could be the growth of replacement tissues in the laboratory” (LaPensee 15). Necrosis, apoptosis, and lymphocyte diapedesis all cause tissue damage or death. These tissues could be replaced by cloned cells of healthy tissues. This shortens recovery periods and leads to healthier tissue growth.

In come a stem cell which is an immature cell that can become a different cell, or even transform into one of many different cells. Most stem cells can also renew or divide themselves indefinitely. These two characteristics are what present a new pathway to repairing damage to the human body caused by trauma, degeneration and disease. Stem cells keep on generating in the body and take place of the cells which have died such as in a spinal cord injury. The process of using stem cells for spinal cord injury is controversial for some and involves taking one’s own bone marrow or a donated human umbilical cord. A licensed anesthesiologist harvests bone marrow from both hips under light general anesthesia in a hospital operating room, the procedure takes about one and half to two hours. The bone marrow-derived stem cells have to pass rigorous testing for quality and to ensure there is not bacterial contamination before they are administered to the patient. In the same fashion

Discoveries from stem cells have been substantial within the last 20 years, with breakthrough treatments for diseases and conditions previously thought to be incurable. For instance, the case of Portuguese patient Silvio, who, due to an accident, suffered Grade A spinal cord injury, and “was left with no movement of his legs and minimal

In humans adult stem cells, not embryonic stem cells, have been used in therapies for more than forty years. People with blood disorders have used stem cell therapy to take the opportunity to improve upon their life. On the other hand, embryonic stem cells have a very high potential to treat or even cure numerous diseases like diabetes and heart disease. They are much more versatile in their usage compared to adult stem cells. Another practical use for embryonic stem cells is to treat damaged nerves ("Testing The Use…”). These nerves could have been impaired in a spinal cord injury. As of today, scientists have already performed stem cell transplants in people whose cells were damaged through chemotherapy of disease.

This article discusses the successful use of experimental stem cell treatments within a variety of clinical trials, discussing the two main types of stem cells, embryonic and adult. The article draws on research published by the Massachusetts Family Institute, "a pro-life group that is opposed to the use of embryonic stem cells" to illustrate the successful use of adult stem cells to reverse the effects of, or cure entirely, a number of severe diseases such as Crohn's disease and lupus. It also references a report by Medical Use Today which highlights encouraging experiments with embryonic stem cells that appear capable of reversing paralysis caused by spinal injuries. Written for religious audience tolerant of scientific advancements, the article focuses almost entirely on the positive aspects of experimental stem cell research, and cites studies that support its preconceptions on the subject. The author, a former "instrument development and computer science professional," possesses a scientific background which informs the construction of the article's overall argument. I found this article by searching the Ontartio Consultants on Religious Tolerance essay database, found at ReligiousTolerance.org.

According to the article, “A Squirt of Stem Cell Gel Heals Brain Injuries,” was written by Sandeep Ravindran discussed about a scientist name, Dr. Ning Zhang who works at Clemson University in South Carolina, developed a gel that injected into the injured brain that helps recover from any traumatic injuries including people who suffered from fall, car accidents, gunshot wounds, and combat. This procedure is to insert the gel into the injured brain and stimulates the growth of stem cells. Even though, it’s hard to fix an injured brain because of swollen tissues and can cause more damage to the cells. They already did the experiment, the gel injection is to change the temperature or release the pressure of the injured brain, but it’s often not

In a study done by Emadedin et al. in 2012, they injected MSC from each respective patients bone marrow, into six female volunteers with evidence of knee OA that was severe enough to require joint replacement surgery. The authors described a detailed, meticulous procedure in how they obtained the MSC from the patient’s bone marrow, and made it into the cells they needed for the procedure. They injected the patient’s affected knee joints with the stem cells and followed up with them in one year. At the one year mark, Emadedin et al. (2012) found that overall, the study was successful in decreasing pain and increasing the patients walking distance for the first 6 months. However, they discovered that 3 of the

that stem cells can help replace neurons. This means that injuries to the spinal cord, after effects

Spinal cord injury is a serious problem that effects close to 250,000 people in the United States with 10,000 people being injured per year . There are many things that can lead to spinal cord injury, including athletic injuries, car accidents, and recreational activities like swimming and biking. It primarily effects those between the ages of 16 and 30 and drastically effects the rest of their lives. It is a very debilitating injury that requires extensive medical care, often leaves the patients in a great deal of pain for the rest of their lives(2), and the treatment of which costs $10 billion dollars a year in the US.(facts from site 1) With all of these factors spurring research on there is a strong drive to

During a stem cell treatment, a special needle is used to harvest stem cells from the bone marrow cavity. The stem cells are carefully extracted and this is then injected at the injured site. Some platelets are also injected after a few days in order to keep the stem cells activated. Once the stem cells are injected, they help to speed up the process of regenerating the cells and also help repair the tendons, ligaments and joints that have been

Normal intervertebral disc relatively lacks cell tissue, cell density is only 5. 8 × 103/ mm3 and with aging there is significant reduction in cell density. Therefore, the potential strategy for the treatment of degenerative intervertebral discs is to expand the number of intervertebral disc cells and restore disc function. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may have such capabilities. MSCs can be easily obtained from autologous bone marrow and adipose tissue. A prospective clinical study in patients, who underwent lumbar disc herniation with intervertebral discography and then injected with HUC-MSCs (Human umbilical cord tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells) into the painful degenerated intervertebral disc showed significantly improved pain and lumbar function after treatment. The intensity of the intervertebral disc signal in one of the patients increased after two years of treatment, indicating an increase in water content in the degenerated disc 73. Kenneth Pettine’s study provides evidence of safety and feasibility in the non-surgical treatment of discogenic pain with autologous BMC (bone marrow concentrate), with durable pain relief and ODI improvements through two years 74. Percutaneous injection of MSCs into the intervertebral disc may uniquely fulfill the objectives of treating disc pathology with clinical