• What is Paralysis?


• Paraplegia and Quadraplegia


• Stats About Paralysis


• A Cure


• Paralysis Links


• Works Sited

Paralysis is caused by spinal cord injury (SCI). All control is lost below the point of the
break in the cord because the synapse connection is broken. This causes calcium
ions to start entering the neurons. The membrane outside these cells is broken,
allowing the release of phospholipase, which is an enzyme that digests tissue.
To counter this, free radicals, which are just atoms that are missing an electron in
the outer layer, are released. The problems is, the free radicals attack nearby
neurons that are perfectly healthy. When they attack, they cause the lipids to
break down into oxygen. When this happens, teh cells swell up and release glutamate,
a neurotransmitter that is toxic in great amounts. The bottom line is that massive
amounts of damage are caused to the nervous system.

Paraplegia and quadraplegia are the two main types of SCI. These two classes
are used to define the severity and type of paralysis. Quadraplegia is the
more serious of the two types. Quadraplegia is where injury occurs from the
neck down and usually disables the ability of the arms and legs to move.
Paraplegia is a little less sever and is defined as an injury to the spinal cord
at about the waist level. This injury usually only disables the legs ablities
to move. Most Quadraplegia SCI injurys are caused in car accidents, diving, and
falls, while Paraplegia is usually caused by acts of violence and less severe
car accidents. The injury rate for both types of injurys are about the same.

                                                   Source:  Spinalcord Information Network 

• 82% male, 18% female
• Most injury occurs between ages 16-30


• Average age at injury - 33.4


• Most frequent age at injury 19


• Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of SCI (44%), followed by acts of violence (24%),
  falls (22%) and sports (8%), other (2%)
  2/3 of sports injuries are from diving
  
• Falls are the leading cause of SCI after age 45.


• Acts of violence and sports cause less injuries as age increases


Type Of Paralysis: Incompleted defined as injurys
where loss of ability to move is partial below the
injury point on spinal cord. Complete is defined as loss of
total funtion below injury point on spinal cord.

Quadriplegia, incomplete 31.2%
Paraplegia, complete 28.2%
Paraplegia, incomplete 23.1%
Quadriplegia, complete 17.5%

Average Medical Bills for an SCI Patient
Quadriplegics $118,900
Paraplegics $ 85,100
All $ 99,553

Where the Money Comes From:

• Private Insurance 53%


• Medicaid 25%


• Self-pay 1%


• Vocational Rehab 14%


• Worker's Comp 12%


• Medicare 5%


• Other 2%

No cure to Paralysis in either of its forms, paraplegia and quadraplegia, has been found.
Research is currently being done with rats in test labs which have proved to be
successful. Using growth hormones, specifically designed for nerve cells, damage
to the rats spinal cord was healed, and the rats could walk again on their hind
legs, an incredible feat. Now as this procedure has not worked with humans, since
it would take a massive amount of hormones to stimulate growth, it is a start and
a hope for a cure to paralysis. Christopher Reeve (Shown to the right) is one of the
leading figures in the race to cure paralysis. His organization, The Christopher Reeve
foundation, leads funding for research into a cure for paralysis.

Internet Sites

                                                    Source:  Spinalcord Information Network 

• Mayo Clinic Spinal Site
  
• Rehabilitation Learning Center


• National Rehabilitation Information Center


• American Paralysis Association Web Page

Tzimopoulos, Ceanne.  Biological Science. 7th Edition.  D. C. Heath and Company, 
	Lexington, Massachusetts., 1996.
Spinal Cord Injury.  Mayo Clinic. 24 March 1998 
	<http://www.mayohealth.org/mayo/9610/htm/spinal_c.htm> 
"Spinal Cord," McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology McGraw-Hill,
	Washington, D. C. 1997.
Paralysis FAQS.  Cure Paralysis Now. 21 March 1998. 
	<http://www.cureparalysis.org/faq/> 
Travis, John, "New Optimism Blooms for Developing Treatments." Science.  Vol. 258, 
	Iss. 5080. 9 October 1992.  Pgs. 218 - 220. 
Walker, Richard, The Children's Atlas of the Human Body, Quarto Children's Books,
	London, England. 1994.