The CatWalk Spinal Cord Injury Trust

February 2012

CatWalk Exceeds & Excels Expectations

The Australian Racing industry has pulled out all stops to guarantee plenty of EX Factor at a fundraiser in aid of Spinal Cord Injury research.

Study to probe heart health, spinal cord injury link

Marni Abbott-Peter has won three gold medals over years of playing basketball around the globe.

It wasn't until she got out of the game that she realized keeping her heart in good shape would feel like jumping through hoops.

The 46-year-old retired Paralympic athlete has used a wheelchair since crushing her spine in a downhill skiing accident at age 18.

Schools get $1.5M to study paralysis

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Purdue and Indiana University researchers have received $1.5 million to study the role of a toxin believed to worsen spinal cord injuries and determine whether reducing its concentration in the days following trauma also decreases the likelihood of paralysis.

The funding from the National Institutes of Health will help researchers learn why spinal cord damage often grows worse after the initial injury.

Spinal injury researchers urge quick surgery

Timing appears to be everything when it comes to surgery to help people who have suffered an upper spinal cord injury that can lead to quadriplegia, researchers say.

A Canadian-U.S. study of patients with trauma to the cervical spinal cord found that those who had decompression surgery within 24 hours of the injury had twice the chance of improved neurological recovery compared to those who had to wait longer for their operation.

Caviar and Champagne with Fools & Horses

Spinal cord research campaigners have secured a piece of the hottest racing action in Australasia, with news that the connections of all conquering mare Black Caviar will support CatWalk's special fundraising dinner in Sydney on 8 April.

No more doggie wheelchairs? New drug offers hope

Beanie the dachshund rocks her tiny wheelchair. The mere sight of it causes her to wriggle with excitement; she knows it means a walk or some other adventure is about to begin.

U.S. and Canadian Scientists Form a Global Alliance

U.S. Navy Surgeon General Matthew Nathan, Canadian Surgeon General Hans W. Jung, and MP Kirsty Duncan among keynote speakers at Annual Meeting of Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics (SBMT) at the Toronto Metro Convention Center (June 2-4, 2012)

UT researchers could be closer to curing paralysis

AUSTIN -- University of Texas researchers could be on the right track to cure paralysis. This truly remarkable research is allowing lab rats to almost fully recover from peripheral nerve surgery in a matter of days and weeks, instead of months or years. The key is something that many of us have in our homes or garages already.

As a standout defensive lineman for the Texas Longhorns and the Detroit Lions, Doug English got more than his share of cheers. Today, as the head of the Lone Star Paralysis Foundation, he's cheering loudest for a team of lab rats at UT.

F1: Mateschitz donates EUR 70m to research university

The local 'Salzburg 24' reports that the 67-year-old billionaire, whose energy drink company owns the Red Bull and Toro Rosso teams, donated the money to the Paracelsus Medical University.

Mateschitz reportedly wants the money to be used for research into incurable spinal injury and paralysis.

The report said the university was founded in 2002 with Mateschitz's support.