Usually when I walked, I would lift one leg and collapse into the knee, then do the same with the other, over and over. Thanks to the support of the braces, I got a sense of what it was like to move with an actual heel-to-toe rollover motion. I looked up at Ryan. “Fuck, man,” I said. “Let’s do it!” I headed back to Los Angeles, where my daydreams, for once, had a happy ending.
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(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) – The lower-limb paralysis associated with spina bifida may be effectively treated before birth by combining a unique stem cell therapy with surgery, new research from UC Davis Health System has found. Diana Farmer (front), a pioneer in fetal surgery, and her research team are testing placental stem cells as a treatment for the paralysis associated with spina
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(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) – The state stem cell agency, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), awarded a pair of grants totaling more than $7 million to UC Davis School of Medicine researchers who are working to develop stem cell therapies for spina bifida and chronic diabetic wounds. The funding is part of what the agency considers “the most promising” research leading up
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It might seem like science fiction but a new implant which attaches directly to the spine could help paralysed people walk again The implant is so effective because it mimics the soft tissue around the spine so that the body does not reject its presence. Paralysed patients have been given new hope of recovery after rats with severe spinal injuries
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Written by Anuja Vaidya and Laura Dyrda Clinical innovation moves at breakneck speed, and this year saw a number of ‘firsts’ in spine surgery. Here are four that could potentially change the spine industry: First ever spine surgery with 3D-printed vertebral body In August, spine surgeons made history when they performed the first spinal disc replacement implanting a 3D printed vertebra. Three-dimensional
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http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29645760 At Kennedy Krieger Institute, who specialize in paralysis rehabiliation, it seems their perspective is to keep your body as healthy and muscles as stimulated as possible, and wait for science (stem cells) to catch up. The doctor I spoke with there did not think that the treatments in Mexico were doing anything. Articles like this are really encouraging. If
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Physicians at Texas Children’s Fetal Center and Baylor College of Medicine proudly announce the completion of the first two-port fetoscopic procedure to repair spina bifida in-utero. It is believed that this is the first time this type of fetoscopic procedure has been performed in the United States. The fetoscopic approach was developed by Dr. Michael Belfort, obstetrician and gynecologist-in-chief at
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United Kingdom —‘Was I behaving myself?’, Winnie asks with a mischievous grin. Winnie and her daughter Joyce are looking over some old photographs and the one in hand shows a group photo from Winnie’s 95th birthday party. Now aged 99, we believe Winnifred Connolly could be the world’s oldest person living with spina bifida. In her own humble way, Winnie
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New research is being developed in Erie to help kids who are dealing with spinal cord injuries. Shriner’s Hospital for Children wrapped up the first phase of research this week for a ground-breaking physical therapy program that takes kids back to nature, and onto horses. The therapy treats kids with conditions such as spina bifida, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, or
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