Spinal Cord Injury & Damage Reverend Kyle H. Hatashita D.D. Block 3 Honors Mrs. Jensen

Central Nervous System Spinal Cord Injuries Affect mainly the CNS Disrupts Transmission of Nerve Signals Swelling can disrupt or shut down every system in the body Caused by Trauma or Disease Two Types of Injury: Incomplete & Complete

Effects Paralysis Dysfunction of bowels and bladder Male infertility Inability to regulate blood pressure Inability to sweat below level of injury Chronic pain

Effects cont. Cervical: Above C4: Ventillator C5-C7: Little hand/arm control Thoracic: Paraplegic: wrist/hand ok T1-T8: Poor torso control T9-T12: Better torso control

Types Complete: No function or sensation below injury site Both Sides equally affected Can Result in quadriplegia Incomplete: Some function and/or sensation below injury site One side may be more affected than other

Statistics Approximately 450,000 people live with SCI in the US About 10,000 new cases per year with 82% of them being male aged % of that resulting from auto accidents

Statistics cont. 85% of SCI patients (due to trauma) who survive the first 24 hours are alive 10 years later Most common cause of death in SCI patients are diseases of the respiratory system Second: non-ischemic heart disease Third: Suicide

Immediate Treatment Prevention of further Damage Emotional Therapy Preventing Inflammation Corticosteroid Controller Medications (MS)

Treatment of chronic spinal cord injured patients with autologous bone marrow- derived hematopoietic stem cell transplantation Cairo University conducted human trial of hematopoietic progenitor stem cells in SCI Patients Results: Improved functions Not FDA approved MRI showed no tumors Awaiting 1 year follow up

UC Irvine Gained FDA approval for Embryonic Stem Cell Treatment Thoracic Injuries only Not in clinical stages yet