In the days after a spinal cord injury, a lot is happening, and not all of it is good for the injured party. ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which usually acts as a power source for cells, floods into the injury site. But instead of helping cell recovery, ATP can unintentionally bind with important receptors on some immune cells. This can restrict oxygen flow to the cells and lead to some of the serious damage associated with spinal injuries

This colorizing chemical, also known as Blue No. 1, serves to prevent ATP from wreaking this havoc. When administered very soon after spinal injury in rats, the blue dye helped the rats recover faster and more fully. The results, which are being reported in the July 28th issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, indicate that the blue dye could be used in humans for the same types of injuries.

The treatment seems to be pretty much side-effect free. Well, except for one unintended consequence: the dye treatment temporarily turns skin and eyes blue. But being blue for a few weeks is a small price to pay for spinal injury recovery. Even if it means blue skin, I'll gladly sign up for my Brawndo treatment.

Brilliant Blue For The Spine [via Science News]

(Photo: Takahiro Takano)

Last year, I watched in horror as Buffalo Bills player Kevin Everett suffered a severe spinal injury in the first game of the NFL season. After nearly dying on the field, then receiving a series of grim prognoses, Everett eventually regained the ability to walk on his own. Despite the positive outcome for Everett, it still ended his career. What he suffered was exactly the type of injury the Pro-Neck-Tor could prevent.

When you strike something head-on, like a football player or the end boards of a hockey rink, the stresses placed on your neck can approximate those in a car crash. If you're wearing a helmet, it prevents the force from affecting your skull, but it stops your head's movement suddenly. The force is transferred to the neck and spine. This leads to burst fractures and severe dislocation of the cervical spine. Damage to the spinal cord leads to paralysis. The Pro-Neck-Tor (let's get it out of the way and just acknowledge how horrible the name is) solves this problem by incorporating an inner and outer helmet shell and a pivot point.

As your head impacts something at a head-on angle with enough force, the pivot swings the inner shell forward. The outer shell hits the object while your head stays with the inner shell. The pivoting motion swings your head down and diffuses the force. Testing shows a reduction in forces acting on the neck by up to 72 percent. You can watch a pretty cool video that shows how it works at the Pro-Neck-Tor website. Image by: University of British Columbia.

New Helmet May Significantly Reduce Forces To Neck During Head-first Impact. [Science Daily]