Archivi tag: chondroitinaise

Cure Girl Lolly at the “Miami Project to Cure Paralysis”

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Miami Project

The first time I ever visited Miami was before my injury. I went there on holiday and was partying hard and dancing on all the bars in South Beach, having the time of my life.
It’s kind of ironic that this was one of the first places I visited after my spinal cord injury in 2004. I visited the Brucker Biofeedback Centre for biofeedback treatment over a course of three weeks. I also was eager to visit The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.

M.P. R. C.
The Miami Project is one of the biggest research centres in the world for spinal cord injury. They work closely with Spinal Research UK too.
It’s such an inspiring place for me to visit as there are so many positive people doing so much to find a cure for us.
I first became friends with Kim Anderson, a researcher at the Miami Project about five years ago. Kim too is a tetraplegic like me. She had her injury quite a few years ago and got so involved with SCI research that she studied it and now is one of the top researchers at the Miami Project. She is such an inspiration to me and a really lovely lady.

LOLLY AND KIM

Kim and I spoke about the progress of the clinical trials which are taking place now on acute injuries at the MP. She said that if these are successful they will eventually be carried out on chronics. All going well so far but both of us agree that we are very excited about other trials taking part on chronics.
She also mentioned that this is the most exciting time she has ever known with the work being done all over the world.

THERE REALLY IS HOPE… NOT ‘IF’ BUT WHEN.

Cure Girl Lolly

Cure Girl Lolly At The Spinal Research Reception Evening

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On 7th September 2012 I attended The Spinal Research Reception Evening at Kings College, London. I attend this every year as I think it’s extremely important to keep updated with what’s new on the research front.

Dr. Mark Bacon who is the Director of Research, did a talk on The Future of Chronic Spinal Cord Injury Repair – A Focus on Chondroitinaise.  Programme: http://www.spinal-research.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Programme.pdf

Chondroitinaise is a bacterial enzyme which is able to digest scar tissue that impedes nerve regeneration and stifles changes needed for effective rehabilitation. Researchers are currently looking to modify this enzyme into a form that is safe for use in humans so that it can be taken into clinical trials. This has already shown fantastic results in which treated animal models have reduced scarring, preserved nerve function in the injury zone and demonstrated better recovery of normal movements. This treatment holds great promise and has generated much excitement in the scientific community.

About Chondroitinaise: http://www.spinal-research.org/research/spinal-research-holds-reception-on-promising-therapy-chondroitinase/

There were also lab tours and a talk by Dan Eley who is the face of Spinal Research. Dan spoke about life after spinal cord injury and also the importance of physiotherapy. Keeping the body as fit and healthy as possible is imperative to be ready for a reversal for paralysis.
It was great to meet Dr. Mark Bacon at the end of the evening to thank him for his hard work into finding a cure for us and also telling him about our CURE GIRLS BLOG.

Cure Girl Lolly & Dr. M.Bacon

A very big thank you to all at SPINAL RESEARCH for a great evening. We need to raise as much money as we possibly can so that the researchers can carry on with these very important trials. Lolly’s Skidive for Spinal Research: http://www.justgiving.com/Lolly-Mack
Lolly Mack

About Spinal Research: http://www.spinal-research.org/about-us/ 

Read about Spinal Research achievements over the last year in the Annual Review 2011-12 – Available to download from Spinal Research website: http://www.spinal-research.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/SpinalAnnReview2011-12-final-web.pdf