OHSU Study Challenges Standard Spinal Cord Injury Treatment

['Andrew Schwartz', 'Aschwartz Wweek.Com', "Andrew Schwartz Writes About Health Care. He'S Spent Years Reporting On Political", 'Spiritual Movements', 'Most Recently Covering Religion', 'Immigration For The Chattanooga Times Free Press', 'Before This As A Freelancer Covering Labor', 'Public Policy For Various Magazines. He Began His Career At The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin.', 'September'] Willamette Week 2025-09-22 00:00:00

Clinicians have long treated spinal cord injuries—a leading cause of long-term disability—in part by augmenting a patient’s blood pressure. One group received early treatment that maintained their blood pressure at a certain level. The other group had their blood pressure increased further—the standard practice recommended by leading medical bodies. The National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center estimates that about 300,000 people are living with a spinal cord injury in the U.S. at a given time, and that 18,000 such injuries occur a year—a figure which does not include those who die on site. “But if you just look at the number of years lived with spinal cord injury, it’s huge.”