spine

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Discovery May Explain Why Cancer Often Spreads to Spine
Researchers May Have
Cracked a Cancer Enigma
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Researchers May Have Cracked a Cancer Enigma

Newly discovered stem cell in spine could explain why so many cancers spread there

(Newser) - Scientists have long known that cancers often spread to the spine, but they haven't known why. A new discovery may provide an answer—and point to ways to keep cancerous cells in check, reports Science News . Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine report in the journal Nature that they've...

From Ozzy, 'One of the Hardest Things I've Ever Had to Share'

Osbourne says he's canceling upcoming shows, touring career is over due to longtime spinal injury

(Newser) - Ozzy Osbourne fans woke up Wednesday to a surprise post , one that he said was "probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to share." In his early morning statement, the 74-year-old British heavy-metal singer and ex-frontman for Black Sabbath announced he's canceling his upcoming...

Mike Trout Has Rare Back Issue
Mike Trout Has
Rare Back Issue

Mike Trout Has Rare Back Issue

'My career isn't over,' 3-time MVP says after diagnosis

(Newser) - Mike Trout, the Los Angeles Angels' star centerfielder and three-time league MVP who's considered by many to be among the best players in baseball, has developed a rare back condition that could limit him for the rest of his career. The condition is called costovertebral dysfunction at T5, CNN...

How a Medical Team Reattached a Toddler's Skull

The 16-month-old is in a halo brace after a car accident, but walking

(Newser) - In mid-September, Rylea Taylor and her two children survived a 70mph head-on collision in Australia. But when Rylea pulled 16-month-old Jaxon out of the wreckage, she didn't need to be an expert to see her son's neck was broken. Indeed, his top two vertebrae were fractured, and both...

Boys and Girls Have Different Spines—From Birth

The difference allows the female spine to adapt during pregnancy

(Newser) - Boys and girls have subtly different spines, and the difference is present at birth, according to a new study out of Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on 35 full-term newborn girls and 35 full-term newborn boys, researchers report in the Journal of Pediatrics that vertebral...

Behind Health Exec's Luxe Life: Fake Spinal Screws?

Despite whistleblower, FDA never shut company down

(Newser) - Medical firm founder Roger Williams owned private planes, flashy cars, and a yacht dubbed "Spare Change"; he had courtside seats to see the Lakers and enjoyed spending thousands at strip clubs. But an investigation by the Center for Investigative Reporting suggests his $18-million-a-year California company, Spinal Solutions, made its...

Olympian Who Severed Her Spine Sits Up

Van Dyken 'doing great,' but prognosis unclear

(Newser) - Six-time Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer Amy Van Dyken Rouen is on the mend and in remarkably good spirits after severing her spine in an all-terrain vehicle crash . Her long-term prognosis is still unclear, but she has posted photos of herself smiling and sitting up in her hospital bed on her...

New Tool to Fight Paralysis: Spinal Zaps
 New Tool to 
 Fight Paralysis: 
 Spinal Zaps 
Study Says

New Tool to Fight Paralysis: Spinal Zaps

Study shows patients regaining some movement

(Newser) - New hope is emerging for those left paralyzed by spinal-cord injuries. Electrical zaps to the spinal cord offered several patients the ability to move their legs again, researchers find. Two of four male patients studied since 2009 were living with complete motor and sensory paralysis—no movement or feeling in...

Surgeon Makes Back Brace... for Whale

Rescued SeaWorld pilot whale has scoliosis

(Newser) - A whale nicknamed “300” beached herself in the Florida Keys this spring—but her troubles didn't end there. The pilot whale, transported to SeaWorld for care, developed curvature of the spine, which prevented her from using her tail correctly. Fortunately, an orthopedic surgeon and a prosthetics expert came...

Paralyzed Rats Run in Breakthrough Experiment

Application for humans with spinal injuries not far off

(Newser) - Scientists have made paralyzed rats run again by using a new technique that could one day have wheelchair-bound people walking, reports AFP. Rats, whose spinal cords had been severed, ran when scientists applied electrical charges and drugs. "In some cases they actually walked with more consistent locomotive patterns than...

Have an Itch? It's All In Your Spine

Urge to scratch comes from back not brain, researchers find

(Newser) - Scratching an itch may be an everyday activity, but it’s also a longstanding conundrum to scientists who have never been sure if the urge originated in the skin or the brain. Until now. A new study from University of Minnesota neuroscientists appears to show that both the itch, and...

'Rewired' Nerves Restore Ability to Walk

Promising research on mice raises hopes for human breakthrough

(Newser) - Scientists have figured out how mice that lose the ability to walk after a spinal-cord injury can regain it, a finding that could someday help human patients, Scientific American reports. When the long nerves that run from the brain to the base of the spine were severed, shorter nerves in...

Mom: Kevin Will Walk Again
Mom: Kevin Will Walk Again

Mom: Kevin Will Walk Again

Bills recovers from spinal-cord injury amid supportive family and fans

(Newser) - Injured Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett watched the Bills lose to the Steelers yesterday from his hospital bed, and his mom, Patricia Dugas, was by his side, in a red Bills sweatshirt. It was tough, she told the Buffalo News in an emotional interview. But the toughest thing was...

Bills Player Makes Promising Progress

Everett off ventilator but still has no movement in his hands

(Newser) - Bills tight end Kevin Everett is talking, wiggling his toes, and bending his knees, raising hopes for "community independent ambulation," the team orthopedist said yesterday. "Walking out of this hospital really is not a realistic goal," said Andrew Cappuccino. "But walking may very well be....

Injured Bills Player May Walk Again: Doc

Optimism grows as Everett recovers movement

(Newser) - Severely injured Buffalo Bills player Kevin Everett can now move all his limbs, giving hope to his relieved surgeon that he may walk again. The good news comes a day after his doctor said he would likely remain paralyzed and could even lose his life in the wake of a...

'Catastrophic' Injury Leaves Bills Tight End in Grave Condition

Everett paralyzed, faces fight for life

(Newser) - Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett may never walk again and faces a fight for his life after suffering serious injuries in Sunday's game, doctors said yesterday. Everett , 25, suffered a fractured spine and damage to his spinal cord on a helmet-to-helmet hit during the second-half kickoff of a loss...

16 Stories