Brain Zap Treatment Could Get Arms, Hands Moving After Head Injury

• Carole Tanzer Miller HealthDay Reporter
• October 2, 2024
• Full Page

Patients who lose the use of their hands and arms after a stroke or traumatic brain injury could regain some function through deep brain stimulation (DBS), new research demonstrates.

DBS involves surgical placement of electrodes to deliver electrical impulses to areas of...

Insurance Coverage Could Impact Survival of Patients After Spinal Cord Injury

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• August 26, 2024
• Full Page

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

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• August 19, 2024
• Full Page

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 ...

Prosthetic Legs Controlled by Person's Own Neural System Bring Natural Gait

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• July 1, 2024
• Full Page

"Smart"prosthetic legs can help amputees achieve a natural walking gait, but it's done through robotic sensors and algorithms that drive the limb forward at predetermined rates.

A better way would be to give people full control over the limb through their nervous system ...

Animal Studies Suggest New Treatment Target for Spinal Cord Injury

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• June 14, 2024
• Full Page

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

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 9, 2024
• Full Page

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

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• April 29, 2024
• Full Page

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

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• April 16, 2024
• Full Page

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

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• April 1, 2024
• Full Page

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'

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 26, 2024
• Full Page

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.

Robotic Hip 'Exoskeleton' Helps With Stroke Rehab

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 5, 2024
• Full Page

A new robotic hip exoskeleton could help stroke patients improve their walking stride, a new study shows.

More than 80% of stroke survivors develop problems walking, often because their step is shorter on one side than the other, researchers explained in background notes...

New Prosthetic Hand Can Sense Objects' Temperature

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• February 9, 2024
• Full Page

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...

Elon Musk Says First Human Has Received Neuralink Brain Implant

• Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
• January 31, 2024
• Full Page

Elon Musk, co-founder of Neuralink, said this week that the company placed the first brain implant in a human over the weekend.

In a statement posted on X, the platform former...

Spinal Cord Injury Triggers Muscle Wasting, Study Finds

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• December 22, 2023
• Full Page

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...

ALS Robbed Her of Speech, But Technology Is Changing That

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• August 23, 2023
• Full Page

Many people with Lou Gehrig's disease, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), first start to lose the ability to move their arms and legs.

That's not Pat Bennett. She can move just fine. She can still dress herself, and she can even use her fingers to type.

Spinal Cord Injury Could Harm Immune System

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• July 5, 2023
• Full Page

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...

Immune System Could Play Role in Spinal Cord Injury and Healing

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• May 30, 2023
• Full Page

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

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• May 24, 2023
• Full Page

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

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• April 10, 2023
• Full Page

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 Gives Big Boost to Arm Function After Stroke

• Alan Mozes HealthDay Reporter
• February 20, 2023
• Full Page

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

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• November 18, 2022
• Full Page

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

• Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter
• November 9, 2022
• Full Page

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 With Bell's Palsy Typically Recover Without Treatment

• By Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• September 16, 2022
• Full Page

While adults typically need steroid medication to treat Bell's palsy, mo...

Justin Bieber Takes Break From Touring Due to Health Issues

• By Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• September 7, 2022
• Full Page

Singer Justin Bieber said Tuesday that he will take a break from touring while he takes care of his health.

Bieber has a condition known as Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which...

How Worried Should You Be About New Reports on Polio?

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• August 15, 2022
• Full Page

Poliovirus detected in New York City wastewater last week put public health officials on high alert, as it indicates the potentially paralyzing virus is circulating widely in the area.

But infectious disease experts say there's no need for families of fully vaccinated ch...

B 8/9 -- Ashton Kutcher 'Lucky to Be Alive' After Battle With Vasculitis

• By Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• August 9, 2022
• Full Page

Actor Ashton Kutcher is opening up about dealing with a rare condition called vasculitis that for a time left him seriously disabled.

In an episode of "Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge,"airing Aug. 14 on National Geographic channel, Kutcher, 44, reveals that ...

Could an Experimental Cancer Drug Help Treat Spinal Injury?

• By Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling HealthDay Reporter
• July 18, 2022
• Full Page

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...

Novel Injection Repairs Severe Spinal Cord Injuries in Mice

• By Robert Preidt HealthDay Reporter
• April 14, 2022
• Full Page

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...

Computer Helps 'Locked-In' ALS Patients Communicate, Shop Online

• Dennis Thompson
• March 30, 2022
• Full Page

A handful of "locked-in" amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients can now work a laptop computer using their brain waves, thanks to an implant lodged in a major vein inside their skull.

T...

Brain Implant Helps Completely 'Locked-In' Man Communicate

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 22, 2022
• Full Page

Unable to move a single muscle, even to open your eyes. Completely locked into your own body, yet fully conscious and aware.

Lou Gehrig's disease -