Genesis launches new Neuroscience Institute

When 25-year-old Russell Evans arrived at Genesis Medical Center two months ago, he was motionless, lying in a hospital bed.

That's a sharp contrast to the Evans who showed up all smiles Wednesday, walking down a corridor at Genesis Medical Center-West Central Park Avenue in Davenport.

It's one example of what to expect from the new Neuroscience Institute at Genesis in apartnership with University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinicsthat was announced Wednesday.

Evans was involved in a one-vehicle accident in late July. He was riding in a truck that rolled on a gravel road, throwing him from the vehicle and injuring his spine in the neck and lower back areas.

He was treated at University Hospitals. Shortly after arriving in the emergency department, his parents were asked to enroll him in a neurological research study on a new drug that helps to stabilize the spinal cord after a traumatic injury.

The drug is safer than an alternative treatment that involves the use of stem cells, said Dr. Conway Chin, who oversees the project at Genesis.

The study involves Genesis as well as the University of Iowa.

Chin also supervises Evans' care in Davenport, which involves nurses and therapists who work especially to help Evans regain movement on his right side.

That Evans has recovered so much from a traumatic spinal injury is unusual, Chin said.

The rehabilitation unit at Genesis that is helping Evans is an example of how the hospital is working with specialists from the University of Iowa. That relationship is taking a step ahead with the Neuroscience Institute, officials said.

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Genesis launches new Neuroscience Institute