DerbyCity Area Chapter of the National Spinal Cord Injury Association
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
The Derby City Area Chapter of the N.S.C.I.A. is a membership organization for individuals with spinal cord injuries, their families, and health professionals. Founded in 1984 as a Charter Member of the N.S.C.I.A., it was incorporated under IRS Section 501 (c) 3 as a not for profit organization. The Board of Directors consists of the Officers, Past President and the Board Members At Large.
*** OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
David Allgood - (502) 589-6620
VICE PRESIDENT
Adam Ford - (502) 425-2206
TREASURER
Tom Stokes- (502) 957-5865
LIAISON TO FRAZIER INSTITUTE
Jill Farmer
FUNDRAISING CHAIR
Betty Perry—(502) 647-0368
CORRESPONDING SECRETARY/WEB MASTER
Michael Feger- (502) 647-0368
PAST PRESIDENT
Adam Ford- (502) 425-2206
BOARD MEMBERS AT LARGE-
Mike Perry
Kelly Young
NSCIA DERBY CITY CHAPTER NEWSLETTER
Editor- Barbara Davis
Contributor- David Allgood
Visit Our Website at www.DerbyCitySpinalCord.org
BLADDER CONTROL, CONT’D
Dr. Chuan-Gao Xiao operate at the Huazhong University of
Science and Technology.
“We said, ‘This is something we need to study—to see if
we can reproduce this in the U.S.,’” adds Peters, who in turn
invited Dr. Xiao into Beaumont’s operating room recently. If
the results hold up, “it would allow us to treat those patients
who have no other alternatives.”
After infancy the brain takes over urination. The bladder sends ”I’m full” signals up the spinal cord. Once the person’s in an appropriate spot, the brain signals back to the bladder to empty.
In spinal cord injury and spinal bifida, this control is disrupted, leaving patients either unable to urinate or constantly wet. They depend on catheters to empty the bladder every few hours. Still, recurrent infections and even life threatening kidney damage from blocked-up bladders are common, not to mention the inconvenience and even embarrassment the procedure brings.
“People put so much emphasis on walking. I don’t care if I walk again; that’s not the No. 1 thing,” says Bryant, of Rochester Hills, Mich. Going to the bathroom is, “such a hassle in day-to-day life. I have to schedule my life around the times I am going to catheterize.”
Xiao’s procedure can’t restore sensation but uses intact nerves below the spinal injury to try to create a Reflex that bypasses the brain.
“Thinking over the urination process, its final step is just a signal to the bladder to contract.,” explained Xiao in an email interview. “Can we find another way to send a signal to initiate bladder contraction and voiding?”
First, surgeons remove a piece of bone along the lower spine to expose spaghetti-like nerve roots beneath. They reconnect a Lumbar nerve responsible for thigh sensation to a Sacral nerve that would normally open the bladder.
It can take a year, maybe longer, for the two nerves to grow together, and people with certain bladder or spine scarring aren’t candidates.
But Xiao says 110 spinal cord injury patients and 230 with spina bifida have undergone the procedure, including two at New York University where he began the research years ago. He has reported a fraction of those cases in respected urology journals, suggesting about 80 percent resume voiding eventually.
In the Michigan study, doctors plan to suspend operating
