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The American
Spinal Injury Association works to establish standards
of excellence in the health care of spinal cord injury
patients from the onset of injury throughout life, and
to educate health care professionals, patients, families
and the public in all aspects of spinal cord injury.
The association's representatives say their mission
is to promote research to prevent spinal cord injuries,
improve care, reduce disability and find a cure. Existing
research is extensive and involves many avenues including
prevention, spinal cord regeneration, stem cell research,
emergency management of spinal cord injury, acute surgical
care of spinal cord injured patients, neurological recovery,
equipment and assistive technology.
Robert Waters, MD, of Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center
in Downey, Calif., has worked with spinal cord injury
patients for more than 30 years and is the past president
of the American Spinal Injury Association.
"Before World War II, spinal cord injury patients
lived only a year or two. Now, they have a near-normal
life span," Waters said. As the spinal cord injury
patient population ages, the research focus shifts.
"Spinal cord injury affects every organ system,"he
said.
Because health care professionals now know how to treat
and prevent medical complications, spinal cord injury
patients now are living long enough to suffer from heart
disease and joint degeneration. "The joints in
paraplegics' arms wear out due to overuse. This is a
big deal because, as they get older, they may lose their
independence," Waters said. Researchers are searching
for ways to minimize these complications so that people
can maintain function. "The aging spinal cord injury
patient is a tremendous research challenge," Waters
said.
Waters describes the present research as "tantalizing."
"We used to think neurons could not regenerate.
Now we know that is not true. We see promising things
in the research lab, but we haven't had any breakthroughs
in dramatic recovery."
One advance Waters has seen is that patients no longer
lie on their backs in tongs for months after an injury.
Rather, they are up in a chair in two weeks and moving
into physical therapy. "That's an improvement,"
Waters said.
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