New York, N.Y (PRWEB) April 23, 2014 -- Four paralyzed young men recently made groundbreaking progress by being able to voluntarily move their legs after electrical stimulation of their spinal cords. An April 7 news release issued by UCLA, one of the research partners involved in the study, stated that all four participants were classified as suffering from chronic, motor-sensory complete spinal cord injuries and were unable to move their lower extremities prior to the implantation of the epidural stimulator. The release says that this stimulator delivers a continuous electrical current to the lower spinal cord, mimicking signals that the brain normally transmits to initiate movement.
Based on the findings of the study, in addition to regaining voluntary movement, the research participants have made improvements in overall health including increases in muscle mass, regulation of blood pressure and reduced fatigue. The four participants surprised the scientists by recovering voluntary control of their lower extremities because researchers believed that at least some of the sensory pathways must be intact for epidural stimulation to be successful, the report stated.
According to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, there is nearly 1 in 50 people living with paralysis in the United States -- approximately 6 million people. That's the same number of people as the combined populations of Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. The Foundation also estimates that the average yearly expense for a paralysis patient can range from $228,566 to $775,567 and estimated lifetime costs can range from $681,843 to $3 million or more for a 25-year-old person.
This latest research offers fresh hope for spinal cord injury victims and their families, said New York personal injury lawyer Kenneth A. Wilhelm. "Often, there is little hope for those who have suffered catastrophic spinal cord damage in slip-and-fall accidents, trip-and-fall accidents, car accidents or as the result of other traumatic events."
The highlight of this study is that it shows patients can make these movements years after the injuries, Wilhelm said. "Spinal cord injury victims and their families suffer significant emotional and financial stress. Patients undergo months or years of rehabilitation without any positive outcome. This study definitely sends a much-needed ray of hope to these individuals."
Wilhelm says the costs of treating spinal cord injuries are staggering. "It is important that victims and their families tap into every possible resource they have to obtain more information about their treatment options after suffering a serious spinal cord injury."
About the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm
The Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm is a personal injury litigation firm with an unwavering dedication to its clients. With more than 42 years of experience, our firm strives to obtain the best compensation for those who have been injured or those who have lost a loved one due to an accident or by someone else's negligence. We handle cases dealing with personal injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death, train accidents, workers' compensation, dental malpractice, motor vehicle accidents, pedestrian accidents, rape, paralysis, comas, seizures, false arrest, lead poisoning, trips and slips and falls, falls on sidewalks or stairs, elevator accidents, construction accidents, building collapses and explosions, Erb's palsy, cerebral palsy, brain damage, blindness, hearing loss, dog bite cases, fire and smoke inhalation accidents, bicycle accidents, falls from windows or scaffolds, food poisoning injuries, carbon monoxide accidents, and many other types of accidents and injuries.
Please contact our New York personal injury attorneys TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys' fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury cases in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
The Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm
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New York, NY 10022
(212) 545-7373
Please visit us at: http://www.WORK4YOULAW.com
Kenneth A. Wilhelm, The Law Offices Of Kenneth A. Wilhelm, http://www.work4youlaw.com, (212) 545-7373, ken@work4youlaw.com
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