The device, called an epidural spine stimulator, was implanted in the men as part of a study undertaken by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Louisville.

One of the patients in the study, Kent Stephenson, is from Mount Pleasant, Texas. At 21, he was involved in a motocross accident that left him without sensation or motor control from the chest down. Today, he can move his legs, stand on his own and distinguish between types of touch. In addition, he has regained sexual function, bowel control and bladder control.

In a video documenting his progress, Stephenson told the camera, “I feel like we’ve conquered a lot of things people thought were impossible.”

Only four men were involved in this study — meaning that so far, the success rate is 100 percent. A researcher told USA Today that it was too early to determine how effective the treatment would be for the general population.

Still, all four of the men had complete spinal cord injuries, and today all four are able to move their legs. One of the researchers behind the project was quoted as saying, “The belief that no recovery is possible and complete paralysis is permanent has been challenged.”

An article from CNN emphasized that the recovery of sexual function and bowel and bladder control are especially significant for many people who are paralyzed. According to the CNN report, a survey showed that regaining these functions was more important to most paralyzed people than regaining the ability to walk.

According to a news release from UCLA, nearly 1.3 million Americans suffer some form of paralysis associated with a spinal cord injury.  

The study was funded in part by Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, named for the deceased Superman actor Christopher Reeve, who was paralyzed nearly 20 years ago after an equestrian accident.

At The Hale Law Firm, we have helped thousands of clients successfully prosecute their personal injury claims including auto accidents, wrongful death, dangerous products, brain injuries, burn injuries, and defective medical devices. Clients depend on their personal injury lawyers for guidance and legal advice across a broad range of personal injury accidents. To learn more, visit http://www.hale911.com/ or call 972.351.0000.

By Chris Berry

The Metabolic Cerebral Imaging in Incipient Dementia study is an ongoing nationwide clinical study sponsored by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Data revealed that patients with doctors who gleaned information from a brain PET scan fared better over a two-year-period than those whose doctors were randomized to not have access to the scan information.

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“The patients whose doctors were made aware of the Alzheimer’s Disease metabolic pattern in their brains received Alzheimer’s therapies sooner, and did better than patients whose doctors did not have the benefit of that information,” said study principal investigator Daniel Silverman, a UCLA professor of molecular and medical pharmacology. “During the subsequent two years after their PET scans, these patients had superior executive function, better memory abilities and greater preservation of overall cognitive function, providing the first direct evidence that patients whose early Alzheimer’s disease is revealed by FDG-PET will do better than patients with the same condition, but with their brain metabolism pattern remaining unknown to their doctors and themselves.”

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Findings from the study are being presented Sept. 26 at the Medical Biotech Forum in China. Currently, Medicare does not reimburse for PET scans for patients showing signs of an active cognitive decline, but who do not yet have dementia, Silverman said.

Medicare is reexamining policies for PET scans in dementia cases. A national coverage decision is expected Oct. 1. There has been no previous controlled scientific evidence available that tested the long-term clinical benefit as a result of a PET scan, or any other neuroimaging when evaluating cognitively declining patients.

(Related: Long-Term Care Costs More Than Expected)

This study has revealed major clinical benefit with the potential to save healthcare dollars.

“Patients who don’t have Alzheimer’s disease may be prescribed drugs that won’t help them, or even make them worse,” Silverman said. “And each year of taking these medications costs hundreds of dollars more than the reimbursement for a PET scan would.”

Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130924090551.htm

Christopher J. Berry is a Michigan Alzheimer’s Planning planning lawyer and Medicaid planning attorney dedicated to helping seniors, veterans and their families navigate the long-term care maze. To learn more visit http://www.theeldercarefirm.com/ or call 248.481.4000

The first few days back in school felt like a pleasant dream to Dorothy. Each day that week, she rode her spiffy new 10-speed to her high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Her purple bike had been safely tethered to the crowded bike rack each day, the 12-mile freeway ride proving relatively uneventful. She was a junior now, on track in her college prep courses for UCLA, and she was caught up on her homework and having a blast. But on the Friday of that fateful first week, the health insurance plan that her beloved great-grandfather had purchased from California Health Insurance agent Matt Lockard, proved fortuitous. Her great-grandfather, known in the neighborhood as a cowardly lion because of his pacifist views, had served as Dorothy’s guardian since she’d been in 7th grade and her parents had both died of “that rash.”

But on that fateful Friday, she suffered more than scrapes and bruises, more than mere contusions, when she smacked into the side wall of her school’s cement façade. She hadn’t been paying attention, she later admitted. Dorothy was knocked unconscious, but she’d recovered a bit by the time the ambulance came. Still, she was somewhat delirious and kept yelling: “Where art thou, great-grandfather, ye cowardly lion?” as if it were a mantra.

In her hospital room, the surroundings were unfamiliar, surreal, and in a word, strange. Even when her beloved great-grandfather came a calling, and brought along California Health Insurance agent Matt Lockard, she kept referring to that stoic man from Ventura as “the Tin Man,” which was quite unfair as Matt does indeed have a heart, and it beats, yeah, it beats. Finally, he showed that heart, saying to Dorothy, “Your great-grandfather loves you, and besides, everything’s covered and I’ve brought your homework.” All the time, Matt smiled, pleasantly showing his teeth – including several molars of the type never before seen in the mythical land of Oz.

But at the mention of homework, Dorothy snapped out of her trance, sort of. “Thank you, Tin Man,” she said, smiling.

To learn more please visit: http://www.mattsinsurance4ca.com