This just in: data has been published in the Journal of Neurotrauma from an acute SCI Phase I/IIa (safety) trial for a drug called Cethrin. The primary author is Michael Fehlings, M.D., Ph.D., University of Toronto, a member of the Reeve Foundation’s Science Advisory Council, a key advisor to the NeuroRecovery Network a principal investigator in the Foundation's North American Clinical Trials Network (NACTN). Read More

A prosthetic arm or leg controlled entirely by brain input – it’s already been done, crudely, with monkeys. Trials are coming this summer for humans to manipulate a robotic arm with only their thoughts. Read More

Another interesting rat-walking paper generated some headlines a few days ago: A group from the University of Rochester and the University of Colorado/Denver published a paper called Transplantation of Specific Human Astrocytes Promotes Functional Recovery after Spinal Cord Injury. Read More

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) were in the news again this week. These are stem cells that are derived from other types of cells in our body – skin cells, for example. They are reprogrammed to a native state that resembles an embryonic stem cell. See my previous blog on iPS cells and their huge upside, with second thoughts about their safety. Read More