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UCL in the News: Drive for adventure brings more spine injuries
22 June 2007
The growing popularity of adventure sports is contributing to a rise in the number of serious spinal injuries, doctors said yesterday.
New figures show that the number of patients in England undergoing surgery after such an injury has increased by 33 per cent from 1,723 to 2,293 between 2001 and 2006. …
Patients left paralysed by serious spinal injury have been given hope by Prof Geoffrey Raisman, the director of the Spinal Repair Unit at UCL.
He is developing a technique that he believes could lead to paralysed people walking again within 10 years.
The work involves taking cells from the lining of the nose and injecting them into the severed parts of the spinal cord. Research has shown that the cells create a bridge across the break, allowing the severed nerves to reconnect.
Nicole Martin, 'Daily Telegraph'
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