Spinal Cord Injury Research Paper

Injuries to the spinal cord may be caused indirectly, as by a blow to the head or a fall; by traffic accidents, sports injuries, or violence. The consequences depend on the amount of damage the cord sustains and where the damage occurs. Although spinal injuries are only a small fraction of all injuries; accidents cause an estimated 10,000 spinal cord injuries each year. Each year, more than two million Americans suffer a

Directions: Read the case study below and complete the questions at the end. You will form small groups in class to collaborate and produce your final answer.

Now that I have shared a brief overview of the spinal cord and some statistics about spinal cord injuries, we will look at the past research that has led to the treatments most commonly used today. In 1990, a steroid called dexamethasone was discovered in human trials to preserve some motor and sensory function if administered at high doses within 8 hours of injury. Surgery used to remove fluid, tissue, or bone fragments, or to stabilize fractured vertebrae by fusing bones or inserting hardware has also proven to be one of the most thorough measures to prevent further harm. I received both of these treatments after my accident, and they are the same that have been used for the past decade. Until recently, doctors had no way of limiting such disabilities, aside from stabilizing the cord to prevent added destruction, treating infections, and prescribing rehabilitative therapy to maximize any remaining capabilities.

A Spinal Cord Injury is damage to any part of the Spinal Cord nerves at the end of the Spinal Canal. Every Year, 17,000 Spinal Cord Injuries are reported in the USA alone. The Most Frequent age for Spinal Cord Injuries is 19. Almost 200 Spinal Cord Injuries were reported for High School Football. People who suffer from SCI (Spinal Cord injuries) can experience muscle weakness, poor coordination, and overactive reflexes.There is many

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

Spinal cord injuries can be extremely debilitating with significant impairment in autonomic, sensory, and motor function (Coll-Miro et al., 2016). The prevalence in Canada is on the rise with approximately 86,000 individuals suffering from such injuries as of 2010 (Noonan et al., 2012). Spinal cord injuries are generally classified as either traumatic or non-traumatic, depending on etiology (Sabapathy et al., 2015). In addition, they are subdivided into either complete or incomplete, depending on whether the spinal cord section is fully or partially damaged (Wilberger and Dupre, 2015). The latter classification has better clinical outcomes as some neurologic function is reserved (Wilberger and Dupre, 2015). Other subtypes include paraplegia and quadriplegia denoting paralysis of the lower body or all limbs, respectively (Wilberger and Dupre, 2015; Mayo Clinic Staff, 2014). The pathogenesis of spinal cord injuries is characterized by primary tissue damage due to the force of impact, followed by secondary tissue damage as a result of the inflammatory response (Sabapathy et al., 2015; Coll-Miro et al., 2015). The symptoms and severity may vary depending on the location and pathology of the contusion (Sabapathy et al., 2015). Presenting symptoms include but are not limited to numbness or pain in the extremities, loss of sensation, impaired movement or gait, abnormal reflexes, disrupted bladder or bowel function, and sexual dysfunction (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2014). Several

Nonetheless, prior to an intricate look at the impact on specific brain structures, it is important to understand a TBI, the levels of severity and the immediate implications on a neurological level. The most typical TBI is that of a closed head injury in which no penetration of the skull or brain occurs (Roberts, 2009). Still, impact to the head results in the skull usually hitting a surface as a result of incidents such as falls, accident, sports, assault or abuse (Roberts, 2009). Once a TBI has occurred, a classification of the injuries severity is assessed based on the immediate presentation of symptoms (Roberts, 2009). Mild, moderate and severe classifications are determined based on the presentation (or lack their of) of symptoms such as consciousness and functioning of mental and or sensory process (Roberts, 2009). At the level of the neuron, TBI can cause critical problems. In cases where brain tissue stretches or is sheared, the axon of a neuron becomes weakened due to the stretching, which can result in the

The central nervous system is responsible for controlling involuntary actions such as respiratory rhythm and blinking as well as voluntary actions such as muscular movements like walking. The central nervous system is composed of neurons that send and receive chemical messages through the transmittance of neurotransmitters. The spinal cord connects the brain to the body and when the spinal cord is damaged it loses its function to communicate messages from the brain throughout the body. Depending on the location and severity of the injury different symptoms and pathologies occur. There are different ways in which the spinal cord can be injured. It is protected by the spinal column, which is also called the backbone or spine. The spinal column is composed of a chain of bones called vertebrae, which are interconnected by flexible ligaments and spinal discs. However, if the spinal cord in injured and it starts to swell it starts to create pressure because the spinal column is surrounding it. Fractured bones of the spinal column or herniated discs can also cause damage to the spinal cord. The most common type of injury to the spinal cord is spinal cord compression when it is compressed due to a force on the spinal column. All of these different types of injuries lead to cell degeneration and death of the different types of cells in the spinal cord (Badner et al.

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

The limited space within the vertebrae actually plays an important roll in spinal cord injury. Once the initial injury occurs the body, as with every other part of the body, tries to protect the injured area with swelling. But the swelling occurs within the small confines of the spinal column and causes further damage to the surrounding tissue. It has only recently been discovered how much of an impact this secondary damage has. One of the areas of crucial ongoing research is on what kind of window of opportunity medicine has in treating these types of injuries and still attaining the best recovery.

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 injuries can occur in many different ways but are classified as any damage that causes a change in function of the spinal cord for a temporary or permanent time period. Both experiments are based on the aftermath effects of a

Spinal cord injuries are traumatic to people and do not just affect their physical body, but their mind and spirit. Using stem cells to help improve some of the physical functioning that the human body has after the initial spinal cord injury will also help improve their mental and emotional wellbeing. The discipline of psychology will look at the mental progress that patients make when undergoing stem cell therapy. By improving the mental health of a person who has undergone a spinal cord injury it will also have a cascade of effects because a person’s mental health impacts many different things in their body. This will allow me to relate the topic back using other disciplines outside of psychology, but disciplines that psychology can affect.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease) is considered one of the most common and highly fatal motor neuron disease amongst adults. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that effects both upper motor neuron (central neuron cells) function and lower motor neuron (peripheral neuron cells) function and usually results in muscle weakness, muscle atrophy, speech and swallowing dysfunctions, progressive paralysis, and possible death from respiratory failure. Spasticity, altered behavior disturbances, dysexecutive impairment, and frontotemporal dementia may also be present with ALS as well. In general, neurons in specific tracts/areas (corticospinal tracts, cerebellum, medulla, pons, anterior horn cells, motor cortex) of the brain and spinal cord undergo marked degeneration and premature cell death which may be caused by a toxic buildup of glutamate but that is only one of many factors that may be

According to Chiles and Cooper (1996) spinal injury should always be suspected in patients with severe systemic trauma, patients