Webcast for individuals living with spinal cord injury, their caregivers, and & healthcare professionals

Webcast For individuals living with spinal cord injury, their caregivers, & healthcare professionals

Join us for a Free Webcast and live chat A Continuum of Strategies Targeted at Neuroplasticity for Recovery after Neurologic Injury Epidural Stimulation and Locomotor Training: A Summary of the Research Wednesday, March 7, 2012 6:30-8:00 PM Eastern Time 6:15 PM Check-in Presenter: Susan Harkema PhD Dr. Susan J. Harkema PhD, holds the Owsley B. Frazier Rehabilitation Chair in Neurological Surgery and is the Rehabilitation Research Director of the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center at the University of Louisville.  She is the Director of Research at Frazier Rehab Institute and Director of the NeuroRecovery Network that provides standardized activity-based therapies for individuals with spinal cord injury at seven national rehabilitation centers in the United States.  Her research focuses on neural plasticity of spinal networks and recovery of function after spinal cord injury. Dr. Harkema has published numerous scholarly articles on her research and has received several honors and awards throughout her career.  In 2007, the National Spinal Cord Injury Association nominated her into the SCI Hall of Fame for Achievement in Research in Quality of Life, and most recently, Dr. Harkema was a co-recipient of the Reeve-Irvine Research Medal in 2009, awarded to individuals who have made critical contributions to promoting repair of the damaged spinal cord and recovery of function. In 2011, she received the Rick Hansen Foundation Difference Maker Award and Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award. Dr. Harkema earned her Bachelor of Science and PhD from Michigan State University and conducted her postdoctoral fellowship in neurophysiology at the University of California, Los Angeles. About the Webcast: Dr. Harkema’s work on the recovery of function after spinal cord injuries through activity based therapy has found that this intensive rehabilitation can result in improvements in individuals with SCI even years after injury. During this lecture she will report on the most recent findings from research conducted through the Christopher and Dana Reeve NeuroRecovery Network of seven rehabilitation centers that provide standardized Locomotor Training to individuals with chronic incomplete spinal cord injury. Dr. Harkema will also discuss another recent research study she conducted where epidural stimulation was used with an individual with a SCI.  After months of therapy, the individual was able to voluntarily move his legs with the use of the epidural stimulation. During this lecture, Dr. Harkema will discuss both research studies in depth, including the methods, results and plan for continued research.  To register:  Click here or logon to http://development.bmc.org/NERSCICwebcast For more information: call 617-638-7314 or email Judi.Zazula@bmc.org Save the Dates! Upcoming Lecture Series Webcast Wednesday, May 16, 2012 2012 Annual Consumer Research ConferenceSaturday, October 20, 2012 The New England Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center is now on Facebook! Like us at www.facebook.com/nerscic The Stepping Forward- Staying Informed Consumer Education Program is partially supported by the following organizations:

The University of Washington seeks participants for two research studies on spinal cord injury rehabilitation

The University of Washington’s Northwest Regional Spinal Cord Injury System, a spinal cord injury (SCI) Model System, is engaging participants for two research studies on recovery from SCI.

The goal of the first study, Effectiveness of Physical Activity for Improving Mood in People Aging with MS or SCI, is to clarify what effects exercise may have on improving mood in individuals with multiple sclerosis or SCI. Participants will be reimbursed for phone expenses and will also receive up to $120 in compensation. Please contact 206-221-5641 or 866-928-2114 if you are interested in participating.

The second study, Project to Improve Symptoms and Mood after Spinal Cord Injury (PRISMS), seeks to determine if a 12-week regimen of venlafaxine XR (Effexor XR) is effective in treating symptoms of pain, poor sleep, low energy, low interest in everyday activities, and depressed mood in individuals with SCI. Please contact 206-897-4731 if you are interested in participating.

Please click here for additional information about these two studies.

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