BY THOMAS CROCKER
A DE ARTH OF THER APIES TO REPAIR SPINAL CORD DAMAGE AND RE VERSE
PAR ALYSIS FOLLOWING SPINAL CORD INJURY SPURRED A TE AM OF
RESE ARCHERS TO EMBARK ON AN AMBITIOUS PROJECT TO MAP THE
SPINE A S NE VER BEFORE.
T Y P I C A L LY T H E R E S U LT of motor
vehicle accidents, falls or recreational
activities, spina l cord injuries of ten
occur when vertebral fragments destroy
axons — portions of nerve cells that serve
as two-way message highways along the
spinal cord and facilitate communication
between brain and body. The effects of a
spinal cord injury depend on the location
and extent of the damage. Nearly half of spi-
nal cord injuries are complete, resulting in
total paralysis below the level of the injury,
according to the American Association
of Neu rolog ica l Su rgeon s (A A NS).
Incomplete spinal cord injuries cause
partial loss of motor and sensory function.
The United States may be home to as
many as 450,000 spinal cord injury sur-
vivors, according to the National Spinal
Cord Injur y A ssociation. The A A NS
estimates that 17,000 new spinal cord
injuries occur in the U.S. every year, with
potentially devastating consequences
for patients and caregivers and at great
Mapping the Way
to More Treatment
Options for Spinal
Cord Injury
1 4❱❱❱❱❱ S P E C I A l C l I N I C A l S E C T I O N : N E U R O l O G y
