What You Should Know About Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)

• Brian Lin, PhD, Research Portfolio Director at the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) HealthDay Reporter
• August 11, 2025
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Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a genetic neuromuscular disease affecting specialized nerve cells that control voluntary muscle movement, according to the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). It can...

Brain Wave Decoder Figures Out How To Cause Movement In Spinal Cord Injuries

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• May 20, 2025
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A brain wave decoder shows promise in using electrical stimulation to the spine to cue leg movement, researchers say.

The decoder could one day help restore mobility in people with spinal cord injuries.

Tests in 17 people without a spinal cord injury showed that th...

First-Of-Its-Kind Surgery Uses Eye Socket To Remove Spinal Cancer

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• May 13, 2025
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A first-of-its-kind surgery has gone through a young woman's eye socket to remove a cancerous tumor wrapped around her spine.

Surgeons threaded a thin lighted tube called an end...

Blood Test Can Predict Recovery From Spinal Cord Paralysis

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• April 3, 2025
• Página completa

An experimental blood test might be able to help doctors predict whether someone will recover their mobility following a spinal cord injury.

The test looks for fragments of spinal cord DNA floating freely in a person’s blood, researchers recently reported in the

Spinal Zap Implant Helps Muscle Disease Patients Regain Strength

• HealthDay Reporter
• India Edwards
• February 5, 2025
• Página completa

A new spinal cord implant may help people with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) regain some muscle function, giving them stronger movement and improved walking ability, researchers report.

In a small, month-long pilot study, three adults with SMA -- a genetic disease that w...

Insurance Coverage Could Impact Survival of Patients After Spinal Cord Injury

• HealthDay Reporter
• Ernie Mundell
• August 26, 2024
• Página completa

The care of people seriously harmed by spinal cord injury can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and a new analysis suggests that ability to pay influences how long a patient remains on life support.

In a study of more than 8,400 U.S. adults with severe spinal cord i...

Insights From a Fish Might Help People Battling Spinal Cord Injury

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• August 19, 2024
• Página completa

A fish might hold clues to healing spinal cord injuries in humans, researchers report.

The damaged nerve cells of zebrafish can survive a spinal cord injury, eventually restoring full movement in the fish.

That’s very unlike humans and most other mammals, in ...

New Upright Scanner Tracks Brain Function While You Walk

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• August 9, 2024
• Página completa

A wearable brain scanner could improve research into Parkinson’s disease, dementia and other debilitating disorders, new research shows.

The brain scanner -- called t...

Having Diabetes Raises Risk of Failure With Spinal Fusion Surgery

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• July 12, 2024
• Página completa

Diabetes can make lumbar spinal fusion surgery much more likely to fail, a new study says.

People with diabetes are nearly three times more likely to have their vertebrae fail to properly he...

Animal Studies Suggest New Treatment Target for Spinal Cord Injury

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• June 14, 2024
• Página completa

Spinal cord injuries can cause the body to go haywire, with misfiring nerves causing dangerous "fight-or-flight"responses.

This makes typical and normally harmless problems like having a full bladder prompt life-threatening complications like heart attack, stroke and sev...

Spinal Cord 'Wraparound' Device Could Help Treat Paralysis

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• May 9, 2024
• Página completa

A tiny, flexible device that wraps around the spinal cord could be a breakthrough in the treatment of spinal injuries.

The device, developed by a University of Cambridge team, can record 360-degree information and provide a complete picture of spinal cord activity, resea...

Spinal Cord Injury Damages Metabolism, and Scientists Now Know Why

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• April 29, 2024
• Página completa

Patients with a spinal cord injury frequently develop diabetes and heart health problems, and researchers now think they know why.

It appears that neuron activity following the injury causes...

Brain's Cerebellum Could Help Direct Prosthetic Limbs

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• April 16, 2024
• Página completa

Tapping the power of the small brain region called the cerebellum could improve patients' ability to move cutting-edge robotic limbs, a new study suggests.

The cerebellum is an ancient structure located under the brain, just above where the spinal cord connects to the br...

Stem Cells From Patients' Fat Can Help Treat Spinal Cord Injuries

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• April 1, 2024
• Página completa

Stem cells derived from a patient's own fat can safely help improve sensation and movement after a spinal cord injury, a new, small study finds.

Patients treated with these stem cells experienced increased sensation from pinpricks and light touches, increased muscle stre...

Urinary Implant Helps Alert When Patients 'Gotta Go'

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• March 26, 2024
• Página completa

It's hard for some folks who suffer illness-related urinary incontinence to judge whether they'll be able to hold it until they get home, or if they should rush to a bathroom now.

Rural Americans Are Going Without Meds to Fight Opioid, Alcohol Addictions

• HealthDay Reporter
• Carole Tanzer Miller
• March 26, 2024
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Less than 9% of rural Americans who abuse both opioids and alcohol are prescribed medications to treat both disorders, new research reveals.

Naltrexone treats both opioid use disorder and alcohol use disorder. Other dru...

New Prosthetic Hand Can Sense Objects' Temperature

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• February 9, 2024
• Página completa

Fabrizio wasn't sure what to expect of his newly outfitted prosthetic hand, until he touched one of the researchers who'd given it to him.

"When one of the researchers placed the sensor on his own body, I could feel the warmth of another person with my phantom hand,"said...

Spinal Cord Injury Triggers Muscle Wasting, Study Finds

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• December 22, 2023
• Página completa

A spinal cord injury can trigger muscle wasting in patients, causing them to drop more weight and muscle mass than can be explained solely by their paralysis, a new study in mice warns.

This muscle wasting is rapid and severe, and it appears to be linked to a hormone imb...

Spinal Cord Stimulation Eases Pain, Boosts Function for People With Prosthetic Legs

• HealthDay Reporter
• Ernie Mundell
• December 15, 2023
• Página completa

People who've lost a leg due to injury or disease are often plagued by what's known as phantom limb pain -- discomfort arising in the area, despite the absence of the limb.

Now, researchers report that people who wear a prosthetic leg after amputation may have that pain ...

In Mice, Gene Therapy Helps Restore Movement After Spinal Cord Injury

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• September 27, 2023
• Página completa

Gene therapy has restored mobility in mice with completely severed spinal cords, researchers report.

The mice regained the ability to walk, with gait patterns resembling those of mice that resumed walking naturally after only partial cord injuries, the investigators foun...

Spinal Cord Injury Could Harm Immune System

• HealthDay Reporter
• Cara Murez
• July 5, 2023
• Página completa

A severe spinal cord injury is traumatic enough, but new research now shows that trauma can trigger an immune deficiency that puts patients at risk for developing life-threatening infections.

A new study from a team of international researchers sheds light on spinal cor...

You've Suffered Whiplash: Know the Symptoms & Treatments

• HealthDay Reporter
• Ann Schreiber
• June 22, 2023
• Página completa

Whiplash -- an often underestimated injury that can strike in the aftermath of a collision -- inflicts injury and pain on its unsuspecting victims.

If you find yourself grappling with the relentless effects of whiplash, you're not alone. Numerous legal websites estimate ...

Getting Rid of Neck Pain: 6 Ways to Feel Better

• HealthDay Reporter
• Ann Schreiber
• June 21, 2023
• Página completa

The phrase "pain in the neck" is a tongue-in-cheek way to describe annoying situations or people that test our patience, but for those who experience genuine neck pain, it's no laughing matter.

Neck pain can be a debilitating condition that affects daily life and leaves ...

The Most Common Back Surgeries, Explained

• HealthDay Reporter
• Ann Schreiber
• June 21, 2023
• Página completa

Imagine a life where even the simplest movement becomes a painful endeavor.

Back pain, a pervasive ailment affecting millions, can turn daily routines into exhausting and painful challenges. Back surgery emerges as a potential solution when conventional treatments fall s...

Immune System Could Play Role in Spinal Cord Injury and Healing

• HealthDay Reporter
• Cara Murez
• May 30, 2023
• Página completa

Age blunts the immune system's ability to respond to spinal cord injuries, new animal research indicates.

But researchers working with mice also found that the membranes surrounding the spinal cord play a key role in the immune response to spinal cord injury, a dis...

Hi-Tech Implant Helps Paralyzed Man Walk More Naturally

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• May 24, 2023
• Página completa

A Dutch man with paralyzed legs can now stand and walk, thanks to a wireless brain-spine interface that responds to his thoughts by moving his legs.

Gert-Jan Oskam, 40, suffered a spinal cord injury 11 years ago from a bike accident in China that left him unable to walk....

Spinal Cord Injury Can Lead to Dangerously Low Blood Pressure, But New Implant Might Fix That

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• April 10, 2023
• Página completa

Dangerously low blood pressure is considered an "invisible"consequence of paralysis, adding to the woes of as many as 9 out of 10 people with spinal cord injuries.

Now, a new implant has been developed that treats the problem by delivering electrical stimulation to a sel...

Spinal Cord Stimulation May Ease Diabetic Neuropathy

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• March 1, 2023
• Página completa

Electrical stimulation from a spinal cord implant can provide long-lasting relief for people with diabetic neuropathy, updated clinical trial results show.

"Two years after starting with using that stimulator device, they're still having the same quality of improvement a...

Spinal Cord Stimulation Gives Big Boost to Arm Function After Stroke

• HealthDay Reporter
• Alan Mozes
• February 20, 2023
• Página completa

It's a brutal reality that confronts many recovering stroke patients: After six months or so of rehab, any arm and hand movement not yet restored is unlikely to return.

But new

Mind-Controlled Wheelchair Brings New Freedom to People With Paralysis

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• November 18, 2022
• Página completa

A severely paralyzed person no longer needs to go through brain surgery to try and steer a motorized wheelchair with their mind, researchers report.

Through an electrode-studded cap placed on their head, several people with quadriplegia -- no function in all four limbs -...

Targeting Key Cells in Spinal Cord Got Paralyzed Patients Walking Again

• HealthDay Reporter
• Amy Norton
• November 9, 2022
• Página completa

In an advance in treating spinal cord injuries, researchers have pinpointed nerve cells that are key to allowing people with paralysis to walk again.

The findings come, in part, from nine patients involved in an ongoing Swiss study that is seeking to restore movemen...

Kids Getting Spinal Surgeries May Cut Back on Opioids

• HealthDay Reporter
• Cara Murez
• August 11, 2022
• Página completa

Spinal surgery is painful, but fewer addictive opioid painkillers are needed now to help kids and teens manage it, a new study finds.

A research team from Michigan Medicine found that scoliosis

Could an Experimental Cancer Drug Help Treat Spinal Injury?

• HealthDay Reporter
• Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling
• July 18, 2022
• Página completa

A drug in development as a cancer therapy may also help the body regenerate damaged nerves after spinal injuries, new research suggests.

Scientists at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom report that they used cell and animal models to show that the drug, d...

Injected 'Hydrogel' May Be New Option Against Back Pain

• HealthDay Reporter
• Dennis Thompson
• June 9, 2022
• Página completa

Like fixing a flat on the roadside, a new injectable hydrogel is showing promise as a remedy for worn-down spinal discs -- pumping them back up and relieving chronic back pain.

The gel, with the brand name Hydrafil...

In Animal Studies, Gene Therapy Shows Promise for Spinal Cord Injury Pain

• HealthDay Reporter
• Robert Preidt
• May 13, 2022
• Página completa

An experimental gene therapy for spinal cord pain shows promise in mice, researchers say.

About half of spinal cord injury patients have neuropathy, which is chronic or debilitating pain, tingling, numbn...

Novel Injection Repairs Severe Spinal Cord Injuries in Mice

• HealthDay Reporter
• Robert Preidt
• April 14, 2022
• Página completa

A brighter future could be in store for people with a spinal cord injury if new animal research pans out in humans.

Mice that were paralyzed due to severe spinal cord damage regained the ability to walk within four weeks of receiving an experimental injectable therapy, s...

New Technology Restores Movement After Spinal Cord Paralysis

• HealthDay Reporter
• February 7, 2022
• Página completa

A motorcycle crash left Michel Roccati with complete lower-body paralysis from a devastating spinal cord injury.

That was in 2017.

But now, the Italian native is walking again, courtesy of groundbreaking Swiss research that restores motor function within one day b...

Gun-Related Spinal Cord Injury in Childhood Brings Hardship Later

• HealthDay Reporter
• Robert Preidt
• December 28, 2021
• Página completa

Spinal cord injuries in childhood are devastating no matter how they happen, but new research suggests that kids felled by gunshots are even worse off than those who suffer such an injury nonviolently.

About 13% of