Latest Breakthroughs and Treatments in Spinal Cord Injury Medicine Bring Top Clinicians and Researchers Together in Las Vegas

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27. 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The best and the brightest minds in spinal cord injury medicine will convene this week for Paralyzed Veterans of America's Summit 2012 to discuss the latest breakthroughs and treatments in spinal cord injury medicine. Renowned clinicians like Dr. Stephen Waxman and Dr. Jeffrey Kocsis from Yale, will cover topics such as the molecular revolution, technological advances and solutions to key parts of the multiple sclerosis (MS) puzzle. Experts in the field will also discuss how close we are to breakthroughs in this vitally important—yet often overlooked—area of medicine and health care.

"The big news out of Paralyzed Veterans' Summit 2012 is that we are getting much closer to curing paralysis and better treating spinal cord injuries, diseases and disorders," said Lana McKenzie, associate executive director of Medical Services and Health Policy for Paralyzed Veterans of America. "Paralyzed Veterans created the Summit to build on our 66 years of engaging and educating clinicians on behalf of our members. This Summit brings together leaders from all sectors, private and public, with the end goal of improving care for patients and one day finding a cure for paralysis."

Expected to be highlights of the Summit are presentations by Professors Stephen Waxman, MD, PhD, and Jeffery Kocsis, PhD, of Yale University. At the forefront of what has been called the "molecular revolution," Waxman and Kocsis have received international recognition for their research in spinal cord regeneration and neuropathic pain and for developing a better understanding of MS—research that holds out the real possibility of reversing some types of paralysis in the next decade.

Other highlights of this year's Summit program include:

• Opening Remarks—Tuesday, August 28, 7:45 a.m. – Bill Lawson (U.S. Army veteran), National President, Paralyzed Veterans of America
• Keynote Speaker—Tuesday, August 28, 8:00 a.m. – Robert Petzel, MD, Under Secretary for Health, Veterans Health Administration
• Technology Is Essential for Community Participation, Quality of Life and Health for People with SCI—Tuesday, August 28, 8:30 a.m. – Rory Cooper, PhD
• Transitional Leap from Laboratory Clinic: Building on the Molecular Revolution for Spinal Cord Dysfunction—Wednesday, August 29, 8:30 a.m. – Stephen G. Waxman, MD, PhD and Jeffrey D. Kocsis, PhD
• Addressing MS Patients' Needs—Thursday, August 30, 8:30 a.m. – George Howard Kraft, MD, MS, and Dennis Bourdette, MD

Paralyzed Veterans of America has a long track record of helping people who live with spinal cord injury and related diseases, such as MS. Since the founding of its Research and Education Foundations, and with help from its chapters, Paralyzed Veterans' has invested more than $100 million into research that promises new therapies, treatments and potential cures for paralysis, as well as advancements in care and education of individuals with spinal cord injury or disease.

Summit 2012 and Expo — "Delivering Excellence, Achieving State-of-the-Art Health Care" — offers attendees three days of focused discussion and opportunities to advance spinal cord medicine and health care. Summit attendees will have the opportunity to earn 20-plus continuing education units while hearing from renowned leaders from medicine, health care, policy and government. More than 650 people have registered to attend.

Allergan, Inc., founding partner, along with Permobil, Acorda Therapeutics, Bioness and Teva Pharmaceuticals, will serve as proud sponsors for Summit 2012.

Paralyzed Veterans' Speedy TV will be broadcasting from the Summit with daily Summit recap shows airing online at www.pva.org/speedymedia.  For more information about the Summit, including a full agenda of events, please visit www.pva.org/Summit2012.

About Paralyzed Veterans of America:
Paralyzed Veterans of America was founded by a group of seriously injured American heroes from the "Greatest Generation" of World War II. They created a nonprofit organization to meet the challenges that they faced back in the 1940s — from a medical community not ready to treat them to an inaccessible world. For more than six decades, Paralyzed Veterans' national office and its 34 chapters across the nation have been making America a better place for all veterans and people with disabilities. (www.pva.org)

SOURCE Paralyzed Veterans of America