Tag Archives: ALS

Breakthroughs in Ebola, ALS, Paralysis and Prosthesis Research

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While looking for something else, I stumbled upon these three articles that give such good news in medical research that I had to share them:

Ebola vaccine efficacy trial suggest vaccine provides high protection against disease

Date: July 31, 2015, Source: The Lancet

Summary: Tests of the experimental Ebola vaccine VSV-ZEBOV in over 7500 participants in Guinea suggest that the vaccine provides high protection against the disease as early as ten days after vaccination, in adults who have potentially been exposed to the virus by coming in close contact with a recently infected person.

for more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150731103901.htm

Brain-controlled prosthesis nearly as good as one-finger typing

Years of work yield technique that continuously corrects brain readings to give people with spinal cord injuries a more precise way to tap out commands by using a thought-controlled cursor (May be used by those affected by ALS!!!)

Date: July 31, 2015, Source: Stanford School of Engineering

Summary: Brain-controlled prostheses sample a few hundred neurons to estimate motor commands that involve millions of neurons. Sampling errors can reduce the precision and speed of thought-controlled keypads. A new technique can analyze this sample and make dozens of corrective adjustments in the blink of an eye to make thought-controlled cursors more precise.

for more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150731103744.htm

Paralyzed men move legs with new non-invasive spinal cord stimulation

After training, men move legs independently, without stimulation

Date:July 30, 2015, Source:NIH/National Institute of Biomedical Imaging & Bioengineering

Summary: Five men with complete motor paralysis were able to voluntarily generate step-like movements thanks to a new strategy that non-invasively delivers electrical stimulation to their spinal cords. The strategy, called transcutaneous stimulation, delivers electrical current to the spinal cord by way of electrodes strategically placed on the skin of the lower back. This expands to nine the number of completely paralyzed individuals who have achieved voluntary movement while receiving spinal stimulation.

For more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150730162240.htm

A Placebo Is Not Enough.

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In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Placebo Effect,” If you could create a painless, inexpensive cure for a single ailment, what would you cure and why?

Without a doubt, I’d choose ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease.  It is such an insidious disease, and one of my greatest fears is not being able to breathe or swallow. When I was in my twenties, I had an older friend who contracted it.  He was a lovely, warm, funny man who was a teacher in the same school I taught in.  I think it was probably the first time I’d heard of the disease.  Probably the first time I’d heard of Lou Gehrig, as well, as I’ve never been a sports fan.  It was so painful to see how quickly my friend Bill deteriorated and since then it seems as though the disease has become much more widespread.  It would tie with Alzheimer’s as my most feared disease, but since I’ve already written two posts on my sister’s Alzheimer’s, (Read one HERE,) I guess this fear wins out this time.

This is one of those topics where there is no possibility of a humorous or lighthearted answer. Rhyming wouldn’t help and the subject seems too grim for even poetry.  My answer is as straightforward as I wish a cure could be.  I’m sure there will always be diseases.  When one is tackled, nature seems to think up another to take its place; but it is hard to conceive of one more heartbreaking than ALS.