Spinal cord injuries could happen at any time, including a Georgia car accident or a sports accident. In 1985, one former middle linebacker tackled an opposing player and hit him just right. He dislocated his C-3 and C-4 vertebrae, causing him to become a quadriplegic. While in this case, there was not any negligence, in many car accident cases negligence is involved.
No matter how a person ends up with a permanent injury, he or she has a long road of expensive medical care ahead. Not only that, but the injured person’s life changes completely. The injured person may not be able to finish school or may not be able to provide for his or her family.
Those with spinal cord injuries may have something to look forward to as the middle linebacker and his father started the Miami Project Cure Paralysis project to help those with spinal cord injuries. According to ABC News, there are about 300,000 Americans with spinal cord injuries.
In mid 2012, the Food and Drug Administration approved phase one of a clinical trial that looks at the safety aspects of using human Schwann cells to help those who are paralyzed. The trial is the first in the world.
According to ABC News, researchers say that Schwann cells are located in the peripheral nervous system. These cells send electrical signal to the brain. The researches feel that transplanted cells may help those with paralysis regain some feeling in the affected parts of the body.
Source: ABC News, “Spinal-Cord Injury Therapy OK’d by FDA Could Lead to Cures,” Susan James, July 31, 2012