Spinal cord injury is one of the most devastating injuries that can occur because if its potential to leave a person totally disabled.

Every year thousands of people injure themselves jumping into pools head first because they don’t realize the depth of the water is not sufficient to withstand a close impact. The projectile force that a head can be exposed to can literally crush the cervical spine, causing permanent damage to the spinal cord.

The cervical spine begins at the base of the skull and is made up of seven vertebrae and eight pairs of cervical nerves. It protects the spinal cord, supports the skull, and allows head movement. Serious injury to this area typically paralyzes a person, and often injures vital respiratory nerves.

Location often determines the severity of a spinal cord injury. For example, an injury at the neck or cervical spine level may result in paralysis in both the arms and legs, and the use of a respirator to breathe. An injury to the lower spine, may only affect the legs other parts of the body below the injury site.

Spinal cord injuries should always be taken seriously, and if you think someone has suffered one, it’s important you don’t try to move them – keep them still until medical professionals arrive.

Signs of a serious spinal cord injury might include:

• Fading in and out of consciousness
• Extreme back pain or pressure in the neck, head or back
• Weakness, loss of coordination or paralysis in any part of the body
• Numbness, tingling or loss of sensation in the hands, fingers, feet or toes
• Loss of bladder or bowel control
• Difficulty with balance and walking
• Impaired breathing after injury

From a medical perspective, repairing spinal injuries has had limited success. Many times, the damaged nerves cannot be repaired, and patients are left with diminished motor function and sensation. This is why significant research is being done in the field of regenerative medicine. The use of stem cells, right now, seems to be the most promising treatment for the future, but we’re still many years away from fully integrating spinal cord nerves.

This is why prevention is key. When you’re young, you think you’re invincible. But it doesn’t matter what physical activity you choose to do, you always have to acknowledge that your body has limitations. You have to be aware of your surroundings, and whenever possible, think of using protective gear.

Stem cells are cells which haven’t yet differentiated and become specialized into organs or people. Stem cell research is a complex and controversial topic, too complex to analyze effectively in a blog entry, or even a thick textbook. But given all the hysteria, hype and distortion surrounding the issue, I wanted to make a few points for the sake of clarity.

*  President Obama’s order this week does not change legality — it is already legal to conduct research on embryos. It is still not legal to create embryonic stem cells for the purpose of research, nor should it be. What is involved here is conducting research on embryos that have been produced privately for the purpose of in vitro fertilization, but have not ended up being used. Previously the funding was mostly private, now there will be increases in federal funding. At a time when private research money is shrinking, this may help the research to continue.
*  At the same time, advances in treatments have come not in embryonic stem cells, but in adult stem cells that have been manipulated genetically to regain their earlier potential before they began to differentiate. Embryonic stem cells hold promise because they haven’t yet differentiated and may be manipulated to do so in therapeutic directions. But this potential hasn’t been realized in part because the body tends to reject these cells as foreign. In contrast, using a body’s own stem cells or umbilical cord blood circumvents the risk of rejection, since a body won’t reject its own cells.
*  The current debate reminds me of the waste in creating excess embryos for no real medical purpose in the first place. We need stricter regulations on in vitro fertilization, not only so that no more pathetic stories like Octomom occur, but also because life is precious and should not be initiated only to be wasted in this spirit of excess.  IVF for an otherwise childless couple can be a wonderful thing, but it must be well monitored and carefully regulated.
*  It is preferable for embryos to be used for research rather than discarded, even with limited potential to lead to cures, and only with the understanding that no embryos should be created for research purposes.

When you unwrap the real science from the politics and postering, there is less controversy, and less negative emotion.

Dr. Marc Siegel is an internist and associate professor of medicine at the NYU School of Medicine. He is a FOX News medical contributor and writes a health column for LA Times, where he examines TV and movies for medical accuracy. Dr. Siegel is the author of “False Alarm: The Truth About the Epidemic of Fear“ and “Bird Flu: Everything You Need to Know About the Next Pandemic.”  Read more at www.doctorsiegel.com

When Suzanne Penney was diagnosed with leukemia after she battled breast cancer, she decided to undergo an injection of umbilical stem cells – and the procedure saved her life, KNSD-TV reported Thursday.

Penney, who lives in Carlsbad, Calif., contracted leukemia as a result of the aggressive chemotherapy she received for her breast cancer.

“When information about stem cells first came out I was against it,” Penney told KNSD-TV. “I always thought, ‘don’t mess with Mother Nature, and there’s going to be a bunch of cloned people walking around.’”

But, today, as Penney recovers in the hospital, doctors tell her that her leukemia is in remission.  

A new nonprofit institution plans to build a $115 million stem cell research facility in San Diego that would open by 2010.

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British Columbia couple faces controversy trying to conceive a baby to save their son’s life.

The couple is hoping for a miracle and hoping to use the new baby’s umbilical cord’s stem cells to save their son Ben, 8, who is battling leukemia.

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