Brain-related illness currently costs the US $1.3 trillion dollars a year (healthcare costs, lost income). Republicans and Democrats are joining together to support a new bill that aims to fix this massive problem. According to the article, the idea is increase Federally-funded research, as well as eliminate much of the red tape that keeps new… Read More
Spinal Decompression: How Soon Should it be Done?
Spinal decompression following a spinal cord injury has long been known to be beneficial. Decompressing the spinal cord prevents a lot of secondary damage to the cord. Exactly whendecompression should be done, however, has been a point of controversy. Many experts have said that decompression should be accomplished within 24 hours of injury, while others… Read More
Rats Not Cutting it for SCI Research?
A study being published in the upcoming issue of Reviews in the Neurosciencesseeks to prove that animal testing is actually hurting spinal cord injury research as opposed to helping it. The report, written by scientists from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, points to evidence that results in lab rats don’t necessarily translate to results… Read More
Science Closer to Understanding Memory
Scientists at the University of Bristol have been able to block visual recognition memory in rats. This represents a huge step forward in our understanding of how memory works. They have identified a key molecular mechanism that controls synaptic plasticity in the perirhinal cortex. Read more on their findings here.
CI Therapy Increases Grey Matter
Constraint Induced therapy, a technique developed by a neuroscientist at University of Alabama at Birmingham, has recently been proven to increase grey matter in stroke survivors. It is thought to hold much promise for treatment of TBI as well. Read more here.
Electricity Helps Survivors Walk
Whether one suffers a traumatic brain injury or a spinal cord injury, stimulation is often one of the keys of recovery. Bioness has developed knee braces that provide direct electronic stimulation of specific nerves and muscles in the legs. Keeping those signals flowing allows muscles to develop while also strengthening existing neural pathways and/or creating… Read More