Month: November 2014

Year of Hope & hype

Hype is over

Great results from
Olfactory Ensheathing Cells one man trial in Wroclaw Poland
done by Dr. Raisman’s.
Everyone is excited and emailing me about Spinal cord cure.
Reality is – we need to wait another 5 years to confirm results with another 10 patients and than if everything is good, we will see long waiting line to get this procedure (possibly not before 2022).

Eppur si muove

Several different approaches with cell manipulation and threat to of Spinal Cord Injury showing very promising results – here is the List of the most promising with Links:
Dr. Wise’s umbilical cord blood stem cells trial, phase 2, finished in China,
RhinoCyte cell Technology,
StemCells Inc.,
InVivo Therapeutics,
Asterias Biotherapeutics
to recently FDA approved
Schwann cell Human Trial from Miami Project.
All of them considering Human trials and can bring us closer to possible
Regenerative cell therapy solution.

In 2014 we are also witnessing great results with

Epidural Stimulation,

Gene therapy,

Peptide Modulation etc.
Doctor’s are working on Improving transmission with damaged spinal cord
Recent work of

Dr. Arvanian

Dr. Shi
Personally my greatest hope is based on believe that scientist
will figure out how to enhance existing but very weak signal in my legs and fingers – This particular research  could bring results that will help the most of
Incomplete SCI ( approx. 50% of all SCI).
In this year we can also see development of

the best Exoskeleton so far

and Great Initiative as

Paralysis Cure Challenge.

Time is crucial

For the most of us in wheelchair, enjoying life of pain and misery, it is even harder to swallow all media & friends excitement over “cures” – that could possibly help us – but not before all money games related to painfully slow funding, approvals, regulatory processes, patenting and at the end cashing those possible therapies, being played.
To survive, we have to suppress hope & hype and try to find better day-to-day reason to live (believe) that we might walk one day again.

Z.K.

Thanks to Great resources:
Blog “SPINAL CORD INJURY RESEARCH AND ADVOCACY” and Unite to Fight Paralysis Website