UofL, Frazier Rehab Equipment Gives Hope to Paralyzed Children
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The University of Louisville and Frazier Rehab unveiled new equipment Thursday that’s giving hope to children who are paralyzed. It’s paving the way for mobility for one little boy who was told, from birth, he would never walk, stand or sit up on his own. Frazier Rehab has been helping people with spinal cord injuries, regain mobility through locomotor training, but it was never tailored for children, until now.
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Program Teaches Paralyzed How to Walk Again
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Kyle Bartolini can get around with crutches or a walker – a transformation he owes to exercise-based therapy. Called locomotor training, it allows people with spinal cord injuries to practice standing and stepping while suspended above a treadmill. University of Louisville Neurosurgery Professor Andrea Behrman is pioneering the treatment in children in a new pediatric program.
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Recovering From Spinal Cord Injuries
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Some of the most significant advances in spinal cord injury research have been in the field of neurorehabilitation. Neurorehabilitation uses physical therapy exercises to improve mobility and, when initiated soon after injury, the training can enhance the effectiveness of cellular therapies like growth factors. A new treatment developed by Susan Harkema, a neuroscientist at the University of Louisville, builds on this research and demonstrates the value of neurorehabilitation even years after injury.
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Man Moves Legs for 1st Time Since Accident
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CNN has an article and video about Calven Goza as epidural stimulation allows him to achieve the first movement of his legs since his accident.
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How One Dad’s Paralysis Changed His Family Forever
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When Andrew Meas first became a young father at the age of 22, he was physically unstoppable. In addition to working as an electrical technician and caring for his son with his wife Sophorn, he adhered, for years, to a strict routine of daily gym workouts, plus a slew of activities that kept him fit — kickboxing, kung fu, snowboarding, skiing, hiking, and Muay Thai, the martial art of Cambodia, the country his parents left for California when Meas was still in utero. But it all came to a halt one early evening in 2007, when Meas was cruising home from the gym on his motorcycle in Louisville, Kentucky, where he had lived since high school. He was hit head-on by a car, and the impact caused a spinal-cord injury, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down.
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Allowing the Paralysed to Stand Again
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Surgeon Gabriel Weston travels to Kentucky to find out about pioneering research led by Dr Susan Harkema at the University of Louisville which is producing remarkable, and completely unexpected, results.
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How the Paralyzed Can Regain Movement – Dr. Susan Harkema Talks About Her Research
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Dr. Susan Harkema tells Gabriel Weston about the extraordinary results of her research project.
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How I Went From Being Paralyzed to Being Able to Stand Again – Kent Stephenson Tells His Remarkable Story
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Kent Stephenson tells his story of becoming paralyzed at 21 through a motorcycle accident, and then regaining movement thanks to a medical breakthrough: an electronic chip implanted in his lower spine.
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Harkema Helps Injured Walk to Victory
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Our community is fortunate to be blessed with so many people who dedicate their time and talents to improve the lives of others. Luckily, there are people like Dr. Susan Harkema who landed at the University of Louisville’s Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center and the Director of Research at Frazier Rehab Institute. A few weeks ago, Dr. Harkema and a team of volunteers lead the way to The Walk to Victory Over Paralysis event at Frazier Rehab, the first of its kind. There was an overwhelming response from the community, who gathered to take their turn to walk on treadmills that ran continuously for 24 hours. Without a doubt, the first-time event was a success and helped set the stage for years to come.
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New Treatment May Offer Hope for Injured Olympian
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An Olympic swimmer is fighting to regain use of her legs. Amy Van Dyken-Rouen, now 41, suffered a devastating spinal injury that was once considered irreversible. Van Dyken-Rouen posted photos on Instagram from her hospital bed Tuesday. One caption reads: “Doing great today. My room is the most decorated in ICU. Thx for ur thoughts & prayers!”
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