1	General / News / trying to help a friend  on: 06/21/10 at 13:51:34
Started by Guillermo | Post by Guillermo
Please help me help a friend who had an accident 35 years ago. Is there any chance to help her? She is C4 or C3 I guess.

2	General / PW Questions/Answers / Re: Neuro Acupuncture  on: 01/30/10 at 11:44:14
Started by jhorn4012 | Post by jhorn4012
She had one scalp treatment and felt it wasn't worth what she had to pay for it.  Our insurance didn't cover the acupuncturist they would only cover the doctor visit and consultation.  But the whole program of intensive physical therapy at Roll 2 Walk did reawaken some of her muscles and she plans on going back.

3	General / PW Questions/Answers / Re: Project walk vs Push to walk  on: 01/29/10 at 17:06:50
Started by AZ | Post by Snowman
Push 2 Walk is one of our Certified Providers, which means that their staff has been trained by us in our method of exercise-based recovery.   http://www.projectwalk.org/cert_providers/become_cert_provider.htm   I would just prepare yourself to work harder than you have since your injury...or maybe even before.

4	General / PW Questions/Answers / Re: Neuro Acupuncture  on: 01/29/10 at 17:02:23
Started by jhorn4012 | Post by Snowman
jhorn   We do have a neuroacupuncturist on site. He is independent of our staff.   http://www.neuroacupuncture.org/index.html

5	General / PW Questions/Answers / Project walk vs Push to walk  on: 01/27/10 at 21:02:21
Started by AZ | Post by AZ
I was wondering if Push to Walk in New Jersey was the same as Project Walk? If it is going to as intense as Project Walk's therapy? If so, I have been in therapy since my accident which was a little over a year ago, and is there certain things I should work on before I go to my visit?

6	General / PW Questions/Answers / Neuro Acupuncture  on: 01/13/10 at 17:09:37
Started by jhorn4012 | Post by jhorn4012
Is this procedure being used with the program at Project Walk?  If so, please respond ASAP.  My daughter had a treatment like this at Roll 2 Walk in Austin today and the acupuncturist said this was something that was in the Program at Project Walk.  Is this an effective treatment?  The lady told my daughter this was ongoing and unfortunately it's not covered by our insurance plan and somewhat expensive.  She also told us there were no others in acupuncture that do this type of procedure with the scalp.  Any info would be appreciated.

7	General / Other Research / Re: Geron Stem Cell Trial put on hold...  on: 10/30/09 at 17:44:22
Started by Snowman | Post by Snowman
Geron aims to restart human studies on stem-cell spinal-cord injury treatment in 3Q 2010   Associated Press 10/30/09 1:20 PM EDT MENLO PARK, CALIF. — Biotechnology company Geron Corp. said Friday it hopes to pave the way for restarting human studies on a potential stem-cell treatment for spinal cord injury by conducting additional preclinical studies.   Geron said that following discussions with the Food and Drug Administration, it expects data from current preclinical studies to enable the company to restart human studies by the third quarter of 2010.   In August, the company delayed human clinical trials of the drug candidate because some of the animals treated with the injection developed microscopic spinal cysts. The company has been testing the product on rats and mice.   Shares of Geron rose 24 cents, or 4.2 percent, to $6.01 in afternoon trading. The stock has traded between $2.48 and $9.24 over the last 52 weeks.

8	General / Other Research / Geron Stem Cell Trial put on hold...  on: 10/29/09 at 20:13:24
Started by Snowman | Post by Snowman
hESC - Derived Therapies (GRNOPC1) Geron is planning a Phase I multi-center trial that is designed to assess the safety and tolerability of GRNOPC1 in patients with "complete" American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) grade A subacute thoracic spinal cord injuries.   Patients who will be eligible for the Phase I trial must have documented evidence of functionally complete spinal cord injury with a neurological level of T3 to T10 spinal segments and agree to have GRNOPC1 injected into the lesion sites between seven and 14 days after injury.   Although the primary endpoint of the trial will be safety, the protocol will include secondary endpoints to assess efficacy, such as improved neuromuscular control or sensation in the trunk or lower extremities. Once safety in this patient population has been established and the FDA reviews clinical data in conjunction with additional data from ongoing animal studies, Geron plans to seek FDA approval to extend the study to increase the dose of GRNOPC1, enroll subjects with complete cervical injuries and expand the trial to include patients with severe incomplete (ASIA grade B or C) injuries to enable access to the therapy for as broad a population of severe spinal cord-injured patients as is medically appropriate.   Currently there are no sites enrolling patients for this study. The Investigational New Drug application (IND) has been placed on clinical hold by the FDA pending the agency's review of new nonclinical animal study data submitted by the company.   We do not maintain a mailing list for distribution of information. If you would like to join our email distribution list for press releases, which will inform you about significant company developments, please send your name and email address to Geron at info@geron.com.

9	General / Other Research / Re: Antidepressant improves recovery from spine in  on: 10/22/09 at 13:24:06
Started by Snowman | Post by Snowman
So, according to the article spasms are a good thing. Project Walk has been advocating this train of thought for 10 years.

10	General / Other Research / Antidepressant improves recovery from spine injury  on: 10/21/09 at 23:58:27
Started by Snowman | Post by Snowman
Antidepressant improves recovery from spine injury Sun Oct 18, 2009 1:00pm EDT   Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) - A common antidepressant combined with an intensive treadmill training program helped people with partial spinal cord injuries walk better and faster, U.S. researchers said on Sunday.   They said Forest Laboratories' antidepressant Lexapro or escitalopram, which affects a message-carrying brain chemical called serotonin, helps strengthen remaining nerve connections along the spine, giving patients with spinal cord injuries more ability to control their muscles during training.   "The drug is enhancing the effects of the therapy," said George Hornby, a research scientist at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, who is presenting his findings at the Society for Neuroscience's meeting in Chicago.   "The drug on its own isn't a miracle drug. What you need is the drug plus the training," Hornby said in a telephone interview.   The findings are the first in humans and builds on studies in animals that found giving serotonin-like drugs after spinal cord injuries can promote recovery of walking when paired with an intensive training program.   For their study, Hornby and colleagues tested the effects of antidepressants in 50 people who had partial ability to move a year after they had suffered a spinal cord injury.   Of these, 34 patients could walk on their own, but slowly.   All 50 underwent an eight-week walking program on a motorized treadmill, assisted by a robot or physical therapist. Up to 40 percent of their body weight was supported in a harness.   Five hours before training, they were given either 10 mg of Lexapro or a placebo.   While both groups improved, those who took Lexapro were able to walk much faster, Hornby said.   He said the drugs appeared to work by increasing muscle spasms experienced by people with spinal cord injuries, something most doctors consider to be a negative side effect of these types of injuries.   Hornby said the muscle spasms represent reflexes, which can be trained. Patients who have a spinal cord injury "rely on those reflexes to walk," he said.   The volunteers only got an antidepressant only on the day of training, but the benefits lasted after the drug was out of their systems, Hornby said.   He thinks the drug is strengthening the residual connections between the brain and the spinal cord.   "It helps you drive that muscle harder, and it's easier for the brain to activate the muscle," he said.   The researchers plan to do more studies using different antidepressants to see which works best. And they may also try electrical stimulation of muscles to see if that enhances the effect.