Maryland Accident Law Blog

Dr. Michael Fehlings, a neurosurgeon from Toronto Western Hospital is studying Cethrin, a new drug, for treating spinal cord injuries (SCI) soon after they occur. Cethrin is applied to an SCI during surgery. The drug is a recombinant protein made with artificial DNA technology. The protein acts as an inhibitor to Rho, which is a major pathway that increases damages after an SCI and stimulates the death of cells.

The Spinal Cord Injury Information Center says that about 11,000 people in the United States sustain SCIs every year. There are about 253,000 people in the U.S. living with an SCI.

Common Causes of SCIs:

• Motor vehicle crashes: Car and motorcycle collisions are the number one cause of SCIs and make up about 50% of new SCIs that occur annually.
• Falls: The number two cause of SCIs. Seniors older than 65 are at high risk of sustaining an SCI from a fall.
• Violent acts: Gunshot and stab wounds can lead to SCIs.
• Sports and recreational injuries: SCI’s have been known to occur during sporting and other recreational activities, including football, gymnastics, diving, soccer, snowboarding, surfing, and cheerleading.
Diseases. Arthritis, cancer, spinal cord inflammation, and arthritis, can lead to SCIs.

If you or someone you love has sustained a spinal cord injury in a car accident, truck accident, pedestrian accident, bus accident, slip and fall accident, or any other kind of personal injury accident in Maryland or Washington D.C. that was caused because another party was negligent, you should contact a personal injury lawyer right away.

Although Cethrin is still undergoing tests, results based on a one-year study shows that 23% of the 37 spinal cord injury patients who were treated with Cethrin within 53 hours after their SCI injury occurred had improved by at least one grade level (or more) within six months. All 37 patients that participated in the test had been categorized as “A” grade injury patients, meaning that their SCIs were the most serious kind. Although usually there is some recovery following surgery for SCI, recovery rates without Cethrin tend to be a lot lower.

Dr. Fehlings cautioned that Cethrin does not cure SCIs, but that the drug could dramatically help patients, who could regain more physical abilities and motor skills than they would otherwise.

A number of medical institutions in the U.S. and Canada are continuing to study Cethrin’s effect on spinal cord injuries:

• St. Joseph's Hospital & Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona
• University of Cincinnati Mayfield Clinic and Spine Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Virginia
• University of Washington Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, Washington
• Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, Ontario
• Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario
• Hopital du Sacre-Coeur de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec

Breakthrough For Spine Injuries, WFTU, September 21, 2007

Spinal cord injury, Mayo Clinic

Related Web Resources:

Spinal Cord Injury, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Continue reading "New Drug Could Help Spinal Cord Injury Patients" »

A new study reveals that conducting surgeries earlier when treating spinal cord injuries could lead to better results and less damage to injury victims.

Currently, surgeries for spinal cord injuries are usually performed five days or more after the injury occurred. The surgery is intended to hopefully fix the spine and alleviate pressure. Most injury patients are able to get at least some function back in their limbs, hands, toes, and fingers after a surgery.

The new research, however, shows that more recovery is possible if the surgeries were conducted within 24 hours of the spinal cord injuries occurring. The earlier surgeries could prevent any long-term damages from the injury from becoming more serious and allow some people—who would be paralyzed otherwise—to walk again.
Over 300,000 Americans with spinal cord injuries are in wheelchairs.

Dr. Michael Fehlings, a neurosurgeon, says that the initial impact that causes the spinal cord injury isn’t responsible for all the damages that result. Secondary injuries can result from spinal compression and inhalation, and nerve cells that could have been saved end up dying.

A spinal cord injury is frequently caused by a traumatic blow to the spine. The nerves in the spine become fractured or dislocated. A spinal cord injury is often serious if not permanent. There are approximately 10,000 spinal cord injuries that happen every year.

The medical costs to treat a spinal cord injury can be astronomical. If you or someone you love has sustained a spinal cord injury in a car accident, construction accident, motorcycle accident, fall accident, or any other kind of injury accident that was caused because another party was negligent, you should speak with a personal injury lawyer immediately.

The University of Alabama National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center offers a number of statistics regarding the costs of spinal cord injuries in 2002:

• Length of initial hospitalization following injury in acute care units: 15 days
• Average stay in rehabilitation unit: 44 days
• Initial hospitalization costs following injury: $140,000
• Average first year expenses for a SCI injury (all groups): $198,000
• First year expenses for paraplegics: $152,000
• First year expenses for quadriplegics: $417,000
• Average lifetime costs for paraplegics, age of injury 25: $428,000
• Average lifetime costs for quadriplegics, age of injury 25: $1.35 million
• Percentage of SCI individuals who are covered by private health insurance at time of injury: 52%
• Percentage of SCI individuals that are unemployed eight years after injury: 63%. (Note: unemployment rate when this article was written was 4.7%)

You shouldn’t have to pay for your medical expenses out of your own pocket. A spinal cord injury attorney can help you obtain financial recovery from the liable party.

Spine surgery: Timing matters!, 7online.com, August 30, 2007

Spinal Cord Injury Facts & Statistics

Related Web Resources:

Spinal Cord Injuries, Medline Plus

Spinal Cord Injury, Mayo Clinic

Continue reading "New Spinal Cord Injuries Study Says Conducting Surgeries Earlier Could Prevent More Nerve Damage" »