Any injury to a child is devastating at any stage in development and it can often be difficult for a family to cope. Spinal cord injuries can be particularly hard to deal with, as they have such a huge effect on a child’s future, as well as on the way that normal family life functions on a day to day basis.
Over the years an enormous amount of research has been carried out into ways to correct this type of injury, often with life changing results. The latest pioneering research comes from Canadian scientist Patrick Whelan, who is a member of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, the Hotchkiss Brian Institute, and co-leader of the Axon Biology and Regeneration theme at the HBI. Whelan has just been awarded a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council grant for his research, which is focused on those spinal cord circuits that are responsible for walking.
Whelan’s research looks at the fact that the spinal cord has its own ‘mini brain’ and that, even after a spinal cord injury has been sustained, this continues to function. He has been examining the release of dopamine and serotonin into the spinal cord – a natural function that takes place when someone without a spinal cord injury walks and which acts sort of like a fuel for walking. In those who have been injured, these chemicals are not released because they have been cut off and so there is no “walking fuel”.
The research being conducted by Whelan has had some success in replacing the cut off chemicals in those who have suffered a traumatic spinal cord injury, with the result that some degree of movement has been restored to limbs. The grant of $166,000 that Whelan’s research is to receive will allow this process to be refined with a view to using the injection of dopamine and serotonin (together called ‘monoamines’) alongside regular rehabilitation techniques and methods to restore movement faster.
The main body of Whelan’s research is focused on neonatal spinal cord injuries, and is set against a background of his work in understanding neonatal pain. It is widely acknowledged that neonatal spinal cords don’t respond in the same way as the adult spinal cord and that the ability to feel and manage pain is also different. It is hoped that the research being pioneered by Whelan will result in fewer children growing up with ongoing spinal cord injuries, no matter how they were sustained.
Stephensons provides support and legal representation where people have suffered spinal cord injuries as a result of medical negligence or an accident. We have a broad range of clinical negligence expertise, including handling injuries during and after birth as well as those sustained during operations that have not been properly managed. If you or your child has suffered an injury as a result of clinical negligence and you would like to seek compensation to help you and your family deal with the consequences then feel free to contact one of our team today.