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Circulatory Problems of Spinal Cord Injuries
The spinal cord is one of the most important parts of the body; when it becomes damaged, various parts of the body can be affected. Aside from the loss of body control, a person's circulatory system is likely to become compromised.
Understanding the Circulatory System
While it is the job of the respiratory system to provide the body with oxygen, it is the job of the circulatory system to move the oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. Simply stated, the arteries move the oxygenated blood through the body, and then the veins move the deoxygenated blood back to the heart. It is through this process that blood moves throughout a person's organs and extremities.
Why Would Circulatory Issues Result from a Spinal Cord Injury?
When the spine is injured, the brain loses the ability to communicate with the cardiac nerves; thus, the heart may either beat quite slowly or very quickly and erratically. This, then, changes the rate at which the blood circulates through the body.
Human Trials Begin For New Spinal Cord Injury Treatment
The risk of suffering a severe spinal cord injury (SCI) is higher than you may think. More than 11,000 accidents per year result in spinal cord-related damage. This is why studies for the treatment and cure of SCIs have become increasingly important.
Currently, the best options for SCI victims are physical therapy, steroidal drugs, and traction to help treat the injury immediately after it occurs. However, a new therapy by Acorda Therapeutics may provide an alternative form of treatment once human trials are completed.
Acorda-which recently received a $2.6 million grant from the U.S. Army Medical Research Command-began phase 2 trials of their revolutionary SCI treatment early last month. The study now has its first set of human trials to test the efficiency of AC105. AC105 is a magnesium-based drug, formulated to protect neurological function which may otherwise diminish as a result of spinal cord injury.
The protective neurological effects of magnesium sulphate to help prevent cerebral palsy in premature babies are well documented. Acorda is trying to prove that the same effects can help treat neurological and motor functions in SCI victims by mimicking the protective properties of magnesium, such as:
Emotional Effects of Wrongful Death
When someone you love is taken from you unexpectedly, you may be in such emotional agony that you feel like you are going through the absolute worst time in your life. You may even feel like you aren't sure you can go on without your loved one. Rest assured knowing that these emotions following the death of a family member are normal. In fact, the mental and emotional effects of a wrongful death are significant.
What Is Emotional Distress?
When the death of a loved one occurs, it often causes emotional distress, or a state of emotional pain and mental suffering. In a wrongful death suit, this means that someone else's wrongdoing or negligent actions have caused the family of the deceased to endure severe emotional suffering so that emotional damages should be considered and calculated.
Examples of Emotional Distress Caused from Wrongful Death
The following are examples of compensable emotional distress:
- A surviving wife or husband may suffer from loneliness, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other severe emotions following the loss of a spouse. The loss of a companion and partner is unimaginable, which is why a surviving spouse needs to be compensated for his or her emotional distress. This is often referred to as "loss of consortium," where a spouse loses the deceased's companionship and love.
Spinal Cord Injury Blame: Common Culprits of SCI Accidents
In the past few days, you've heard a lot of talk about new spinal cord injury (SCI) treatments, the dangers of spinal cord injuries, and how more and more people are suffering each year from back and neck injuries. Only last week, there was a special report on WJLA about the subject, when a local man became paralyzed after falling off a roof.
Now, although you have no immediate plans to crawl around your roof, how at risk are you for a spinal cord injury?
Breakdown of Common Spinal Cord Injury Origins
There are many reasons and causes in which an SCI victim could have sustained his injuries. However, the Foundation for Spinal Cord Injury Prevention Care and Cure breaks down the five most common causes of spinal cord injuries, into the following estimated percentages of risk:
- Vehicular accident trauma: 42.2 percent of all spinal cord injuries result from injuries sustained in collisions
- Falling spinal trauma: 26.5 percent of all SCIs result from falling
Are You A D.C. Victim Of Hidden Car Accident Trauma?
Car accident injuries may vary from small cuts, bruises, or broken bones to several other far serious internal traumas. However, no matter what the injury, you should be confident that your doctor will know how to treat it. But what if the injury you sustained was undetectable and the symptoms won't show until after you have left the hospital?
Symptoms Are Sometimes Hidden
On average, over 10,000 people are injured each year in D.C. car accidents. In some of these instances, the victim appears to be perfectly fine but after several days or weeks, painful symptoms from hidden trauma begin to show.
Several factors may cause the injury to be hidden or missed. A few examples are:
- The primary injury may be masked by a lesser problem. One common soft tissue injury is whiplash. Whiplash generally begins as just soreness or stiffness in the neck. This can be misidentified a pulled muscle. However, if it is whiplash, it can develop into extremely painful neck and muscle problems.
How to Avoid Winter Weather Accidents in Virginia and Washington DC
In the Commonwealth of Virginia and DC, we get to experience a wonderful change in seasons. We get to enjoy the cherry blossoms, the fall leaves, and the occasional winter snow. Unfortunately that peaceful winter snow can be treacherous when you have to drive in it. Accidents increase during winter weather events, so here are some helpful tips for staying safe when it's snowing:
- If you don't have to drive anywhere, stay inside until road conditions are improved.
- Let snowplows and sand trucks clear the roads before you venture out.
If you must drive in snow or ice:
- Drive slowly and leave plenty of room to stop.
- You should allow at least three times more space than usual between you and the car in front of you.
- Brake gently to avoid skidding.
- Make sure your lights are on and your windshield is clean.
- Don't use cruise control on slick roads.
- Never pass the snowplows or sanding trucks. The road is always better behind them.
Virginia Orthopedic Malpractice Suit Ends In Mistrial
Having surgery is an extremely nerve-racking experience. Not only do you worry whether or not everything will go as planned, but also if the procedure will ultimately stop your suffering.
Regrettably, this worry was valid for 67-year-old Virginia resident Carol Nettles, as her clavicle surgery actually resulted in more pain and suffering than when she started. Miss Nettles sought compensation from her orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Robert Rutkowski, by way of a one million dollar malpractice lawsuit. Unfortunately, after two years of preparation, the lawsuit ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury.
The trial centered on Nettles's injuries from a surgery meant to heal a fractured collarbone. She claimed that Dr. Rutkowski was supposed to attach screws into her clavicle, but instead attached a metal plate affixed with sutures. This plate caused unnecessary pain and deformity as it protruded from her shoulder. She further stated that the sutures acted like a saw that cut her collarbone.
Spinal Cord Injury Research Awarded Million Dollar Grant
Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) occur when the spinal cord, neck, or back is traumatically damaged, cutting off muscle and nerve communication with the brain. Hundreds of Virginians suffer from spinal cord-related injuries each year, which makes any research into treatment highly valued. As a result of this interest and need, SCI research has drastically improved within the last few years. Governments, educational institutions, and hospitals have also been providing financial incentives for promising advancements in treatment.
On October 11, the National Institute of Health awarded one of these incentives, known as the EUREKA (Exceptional Unconventional Research Enabling Knowledge Acceleration) grant, to Dr. Axel Nimmerjahn, a researcher at the Salk Institute. This grant, worth $1.38 million over the course of four years, is to help Dr. Nimmerjahn advance his-as well as the medical community's-understanding of how SCIs affect brain activity.
Over the course of the next four years, Dr. Nimmerjahn and his colleagues at the Salk Institute will be developing tools to better study this relationship on a cellular level. The hope of this study is that once a concrete relationship between the brain and spinal cord is developed, it can lead to new and improved treatments for degenerative spinal cord diseases, tumors, injuries, and infections.
The Do’s And Don’ts For Determining Medical Malpractice In Fairfax
From the very beginning of our lives we are scared of hospitals and doctors. As children we worry that we'll get poked with a needle or have to take yucky medicine. As we grow older, however, hospitals should become a safe place where we go to feel better.
Medical Malpractice: Doctors Can Make Harmful Mistakes
But what if your hospital or doctor doesn't help you feel better, but instead their choices actually make you feel worse? If you believe that your Fairfax doctor is causing you more harm than good, he may be committing medical negligence. Studies estimate that ten percent of patients in the United States are victims of medical malpractice due to human error and miscommunication, and you could be one of them. However, determining if you're a victim may not be as easy as you think.
If you believe that your physician or hospital provided substandard or dangerous care, there are things you should and shouldn't do in order to seek answers:
DON'T:
Determining The Severity Of Your Spinal Cord Injury In Washington D.C.
Have you ever injured your back or neck in an accident or fall? If you have, you are one of hundreds of people who each year suffer a back– or neck-related injury in Washington D.C. Although most of these injuries are minor, some result in traumatic spinal cord damage and paralysis. Therefore, even if you don't believe you seriously damaged your spine, determining the severity of your injury should never be taken lightly.
When the spinal cord is bruised, cut, compressed, or crushed in an accident, your brain can no longer communicate with the nerves that control your body. This paralysis can be temporary as a result of swelling around the spinal cord or if the injury is severe enough, it could lead to permanent paralysis.
Symptoms of Spinal Cord Injuries
If you experience any of the following symptoms after a back, neck, or spine accident, you need to seek immediate medical attention to assess the severity of the injury.
- Spasms
- Increased Pain
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From our office in Fairfax, Shevlin Smith, P.C. serves clients throughout Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C., including Alexandria, Annandale, Arlington, Ashburn, Burke, Centreville, Dale City, Fair Oaks, Leesburg, Manassas, McLean, Oakton, Reston, Springfield, and Woodbridge, as well as Fairfax County, Arlington County, Fauquier County, Loudoun County, and Prince William County.
Results listed are not a guarantee or indication of future case results.
