Spinal Injury Foundation Received $2 Million Grant

The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation of Short Hill, New Jersey and the Capstone National Partners have been awarded a $2 Million grant from the United States Department of Defense, or DOD. The money will help expand research to help find treatments for people who have spinal cord injuries. The Department of Defense is interested because servicemen and women are among the population of people who are living with such an injury.

The DOD awarded this two year grant, though a Reeve division, the North American Clinical Trails Network, or NACTN. This is a group of neurosurgical and neurorehabilitation doctors and teams to introduce more potential therapies into clinicals. Clinicals are medical tests involving people who actually have spinal cord injuries or related damage.

The lead clinician is Dr. Robert Grossman, who is a professor of neurosurgery at Methodist Hospital Neurological Institute. The institute is located in Houston, Texas.

NACTN, the Reeve organization, organizes and verifies a patient's medical information in a data registry. They will evaluate large number of patient records to try to better understand how the body reacts and heals after an injury or illness. They will use standard patient assessment rules and regulations and then develop new protocols as a better understanding of the process is recognized.

When asked about the program, Dr. Grossman stated 'Our goal is to bring effective treatments from the lab to the servicemen on our frontlines. With the support of DOD and the Reeve Foundation our network has a unique opportunity to move safe and potentially viable treatments from the research laboratory into the clinic – this is critically important because presently there are few treatment options for these patients other than standard medical care.'

Standardized medical care for persons with spinal cord injuries is not adequate.

Although the DOD has recognized the need for additional research in the area of spinal cord research, their support has been lacking in this critical area.

One of the purposes of this particular study is to further the tests for the effectiveness of the drug Riluzole. Currently the FDA has approved this drug in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Previous testing suggests this drug is promising in the reduction of spinal cord damage.

The NACTN was originally started by the Reeve foundation in 2004, at that time they had six sites in North America. Now, the number of sites has grown to ten in North America.

Christopher Reeve was an actor and sports enthusiast. Reeve, born in 1952 was a pilot, he skied, sailed, scuba, played tennis, bicycled, an equestrian, and canoed in the wilderness. In May 1995, he was injured when cross country jumping his horse. He received a spinal cord injury and feared his life was over.

After months of hospitalization, he returned home. At Thanksgiving of that year, Reeve committed to living life to the fullest and helping others with spinal cord and other debilitating injuries. He began the foundation with his wife Dana. The foundation provides grants, support, counseling, and more for people with disabilities.

In October 2004, Christopher Reeve passed away from a cardiac arrest. Dana continued the work of the foundation and was a champion of causes for her husband. In February 2009, Dana passed away from complications of lung cancer.

The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation continues to operate today helping people improve their lives through research, and other assistance.