Fwd: [TMIC]from Sally- help you? GLIMMER OF HOPE

[Guest guest]

This is an interesting artical and thoiught maybe this might help us also since TM is an autoimmune disease too. It cann't hurt to keep our fingers crossed and I really hope someone will come up with something within 5-6 years. I know I am not looking forward to using this dumb walker for the rest of my life.

Sally

Ps: I cann't remember if I sent this already, I hope not but if I did I'll blame it on my old brain, what is left of it. LOL

Spinal cord research sparks glimmer of hope

December 3 2002

There is still no miracle cure, but the notion of repairing severed spinal

cords is no longer the stuff of science fiction. -Anne Davies reports.

A decade ago, research into spinal cord injury languished at the bottom of

the scientific heap. It was too hard, too expensive and the chances of a

real breakthrough were negligible. The repair of severed spinal cords seemed

out of the reach of medicine.

Today, some would argue the outlook has not altered much. There is certainly

no miracle cure for what normally are traumatic injuries suffered in

accidents. As Dr Doug Brown, the director of the n Spinal Cord

Service, bluntly sums up: "So far no treatment has made any difference to

the end result."

The end result is inevitably paralysis. But unlike 30 years ago when most

died after receiving spinal cord injuries, the majority survive and live a

normal life span. There are more than 8000 Australians living with partial

or total paralysis, according to the Australasian Spinal Research Trust.

Dr Brown's patients at the Austin and Repatriation Medical Centre spinal

unit do not have the money or clout of United States film star

Reeve. Paralysed after breaking his neck in a horse-riding accident in 1995,

Reeve is at the centre of a furious debate after it was revealed yesterday

that the NSW Government is paying almost $134,000 to the former Hollywood

star and stem cell research advocate to address Premier Bob Carr's summit on

spinal cord injury next month.

"His visit to Australia, at my invitation, is a spectacular tribute to the

scientists we have in this country working on spinal injury," Mr Carr told

ABC radio.

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Reeve made headlines around the world recently after it was reported he had

regained movement in some of his limbs. The improvement is based on the

radical idea that the spinal cord has a memory and was achieved through an

experimental program involving intense electrical stimulation of his muscles

and nerves.

Dr Brown is not a pessimist - quite the opposite, he argues. He is just

careful to avoid peddling false hope. " Reeve is not off a

ventilator, he is not walking around, he's not playing Superman - he is not

cured and we have to keep this in mind," he says. The concrete improvements

have come in the care of people with spinal cord injuries. Voice-activated

computers, attendant care for people in their homes and better understanding

of treating people at the time of injury to avoid making it worse have all

improved patient quality of life.

"Our ignorance is such that we don't know where the cure lies, it could come

from a number of areas of research."

But, that said, there is now hope where once none existed.

A recent scientific congress in London heard experts from around the world

presenting research on the potential for advances in repairing the spinal

cord. Some of the work is being done in Australia.

Several experimental treatments have demonstrated partial recovery of

function in animals with spinal cord injury. Stem cell research, using both

embryonic cells and adult cells, is seen by many to hold the best chance for

significant gains. There was much excitement earlier this year when US

scientists announced they coaxed stem cells from a mouse to turn into

functioning motor neurons. Motor neurons are the nerve cells responsible for

controlling muscle movement. So important was this discovery considered that

the respected scientific journal Cell immediately published the report on

its website.

Important work is also being done by Australian researchers, including a

group from the University of Western Australia who announced earlier this

year they were experimenting with transplanting cells from the nose into the

spinal cord. Dr Giles Plant, who is coordinating the spinal cord research

laboratory, was reported last month saying that the olfactory system was

unique because it replenished its own cells every six to eight weeks.

He said by taking some of these cells and multiplying them in a culture

dish, they could then be injected into the spinal cord. Dr Plant said his

tests had proved successful, regenerating the spinal cord and restoring

movement to disabled rats. Researchers are also looking into how these

different growth factors could be introduced into the injury site.

If you wish to donate money, write to the Australasian Spinal Research

Trust, PO Box 131, Artarmon, NSW 1570. Toll-free phone 1800 774 625.