Until World War II, a serious spinal cord injury (SCI) usually meant certain death. Anyone who survived such injury
relied on a wheelchair for mobility in a world with few accommodations and faced an ongoing struggle to survive secondary
complications such as breathing problems, blood clots, kidney failure, and pressure sores. By the middle of the twentieth
century, new antibiotics and novel approaches to preventing and treating bed sores and urinary tract infections revolutionized
care after spinal cord injury. This greatly expanded life expectancy and required new strategies to maintain the health of people
living with chronic paralysis. New standards of care for treating spinal cord injuries were established: reposition the spine, fix
the bones in place to prevent further damage, and rehabilitate disabilities with exercise. The largest proportion of spinal cord injuries (36.5 percent) occurs during car accidents; more than a quarter is the result
of falls; and the rest are due to acts of violence (primarily gunshot wounds), sporting accidents, and other less common causes.
According to reports, the cost of managing the care of spinal cord injury patients is $3 billion each year, but the average age at
injury is 42.6 years, and eighty percent are male.
Today, improved emergency care for people with spinal cord injuries, antibiotics to treat infections, and aggressive
rehabilitation can minimize damage to the nervous system and restore function to varying degrees. Advances in research are
giving doctors and people living with SCI hope that spinal cord injuries will eventually be repairable. With new surgical
techniques and developments in spinal nerve regeneration, cell replacement, neuroprotection, and neurorehabilitation, the future
for spinal cord injury survivors looks brighter than ever.
【題組】50. What does it mean by chronic paralysis?
(A) Loss or impairment of motor function of body for a long time.
(B) Loss of feeling of sympathy in a long term.
(C) Tentative loss of muscle function.
(D) Loss of auditory function.
(E) Loss of life.
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VIP與詳解卡管理
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