We had reported some time back about the launch of AVAmax Vertebral Balloon to treat spinal fractures. Even through new advances in the management of spinal cord injures (SCI) are presently in the pipeline, any gradual treatment for the condition may probably include a multidisciplinary approach, drawing from proficiency in numerous arenas.
Every year, around 12,000 men and women appear to maintain and survive spinal cord injuries, and roughly 2,59,000 Americans presently live with a life-long SCI. Even though usually connected to predominately young adults, nowadays the standard age of SCI patients seems to have increased to 40.2 years. Automobile crashes are claimed to be the most general cause of SCI, and males are most frequently affected, including roughly 81 percent of all SCI patients.
The researcher mentioned that newer therapeutic methods encompassing stem cell therapy and novel drug formulations, appear to have particular potential for management of SCI patients.
Dr. Ranjan Gupta, chair of the department of orthopaedic surgery and professor of orthopaedic surgery, anatomy and neurobiology, and biomedical engineering at the University of California, Irvine,commented, “Yet, spinal cord injuries are especially difficult to treat because they involve more than a direct injury to the spine. The primary mode of an SCI involves changes to the patient’s anatomy that occur as the result of the actual traumatic event. Secondary injuries may occur as a result of how the body responds to the primary injury, usually by producing scar tissue that can make treatment problematic.”
Dr. Gupta mentioned that it could be in the zone of these secondary injuries that there seemed to be several potential regions of research, from optimizing the acute management of the patient to pharmacologic interventions to cellular transplantation. With the continued, healthy attention from scientists and clinicians including the persistent active support from the National Institutes of Health, there ought to be considerable alterations in the clinical management of SCI over the next decade.
Gupta remarked, “Patients with spinal cord injuries face possible significant neurologic problems, resulting in paralysis and other disabilities. Innovative treatment strategies such as stem cell transplantation have enjoyed renewed interest under the current administration. Currently, the FDA has been more receptive to cellular transplantation trials, with one of the first trials being actively planned in the next two years. While there have been several animal studies showing benefits from various pharmacological interventions, the human clinical trials are still pending.”
Dr. Gupta observed that continuing clinical trials counting the Surgical Treatment of Acute Spinal Cord Injury Study (STASCIS) carry on exploring new techniques to the management of SCI, counting multidiscplinary approaches that depend on numerous specialties to form an effective treatment.
The findings were published at the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS).