[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 52 (Wednesday, April 21, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S4219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          VETERANS SHOULD RECEIVE TIMELY ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE

  Mr. GRAHAM of Florida. Mr. President, I recognize the dedication of 
the Paralyzed Veterans of America, PVA, and their support of spinal 
cord injury research. Through their Spinal Cord Research Foundation, 
PVA support has aided researchers in making huge advances in this 
crucial field.
  Last Friday, in conjunction with PVA Awareness Week 2004, three 
spinal cord injury researchers detailed the contributions PVA has made 
toward improving treatment for and, hopefully, eventually ending 
paralysis. Stephen G. Waxman, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chairman of 
neurology at Yale University, discussed ``Protecting and Repairing the 
Spinal Cord: Gifts from the Molecular Revolution.'' Among other topics, 
Dr. Waxman discussed how his lab had created chronic neuropathic pain 
in a rat, which the lab was then able to successfully ``turn off'' and 
``turn on'' through chemical manipulations.
  Mindy L. Aisen, M.D., the deputy chief research and development 
officer and rehabilitation research and development service director 
for the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA, addressed ``Spinal Cord 
Injury Reasearch: The VA Perspective.'' She spoke about the large scope 
of VA research, which extends well beyond spinal cord dysfunction. She 
specifically discussed the diaphragmatic pacer used by Christorpher 
Reeve, which was invented at the Cleveland VA Medical Center, and she 
noted the wound healing studies conducted by VA.
  Alessandro Ghidini, M.D., a specialist in high-risk pregnancies and 
director of perinatal research for the department of obstetrics and 
gynecology at Georgetown University Medical Center, spoke about 
``Obstetrical Outcomes of Women with Spinal Cord Injury.'' Dr. Ghidini 
is just beginning a PVA research foundation grant to document the 
obstetrical experiences of 60 women with spinal cord injuries, and she 
talked about the main concerns that arise when these two major 
conditions interact; complications from both can create a number of 
medical emergencies that healthcare professionals and women with spinal 
cord injuries must know about in order to carefully and successfully 
manage them.
  These medical professionals demonstrated the great strides the PVA 
Spinal Cord Research Foundation has helped to make in alleviating the 
hardships of paralysis, and they provided a glimpse into the promising 
future of spinal cord injury research.

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