MONDAY, Oct. 11, 2004 (HealthDayNews) -- Christopher Reeve's greatest role came after the 1995 equestrian accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down.
Since then, the actor who soared to fame as the fictitious Superman played for real a new sort of hero -- as inspiration, advocate, lobbyist and fundraiser for the causes of spinal cord injury and stem cell research.
"Clearly, he has been an incredible spark to the field for bringing researchers together to focus in on the repair of the spinal cord and the treatment of patients," said Paul Sanberg, director of the Center for Aging and Brain Repair at the University of South Florida in Tampa. "He clearly sped up research into spinal cord injury and other areas of neuroscience. It helped not just with stem cells, but all sorts of things for treatment, growth factors, new drugs, ways to treat patients with head injuries."
Reeve died at his New York home on Sunday at age 52, his family announced in a statement. He was being treated for a pressure wound that he had developed, a common complication for people living with paralysis. In the past week, the wound had become severely infected, resulting in a serious systemic infection, the statement said.
Reeve was admitted to Northern Westchester Hospital on Saturday evening and never regained consciousness. His family was at his side at the time of his death, the statement said.
"He contributed tremendously to awareness of how a paraplegic feels, how he thinks, how he lives his daily life, how he relates sexually and intellectually," added Nina Zeldis, a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at Tel Aviv University in Israel. "Unfortunately, he suffered, but he was God's gift to disabled people."
When he was cast in the title role in the 1978 hit movie Superman, his fame rose faster than a speeding bullet; three successful sequels cemented his status, even though he tried later in his career, in his words, to "escape the cape."
But after he was thrown from a horse nine years ago, Reeve became a new kind of Superman, with his energies focused relentlessly on every aspect of spinal cord injury, from treatment and research to quality of life.
"The public was brought to the realization that if Superman could be paralyzed, it could happen to anybody," said Charles E. Carson, president of the Spinal Cord Society. "He was very courageous in pushing the idea of a cure."
He founded the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, which supports research for treatments and for a cure for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury and other central nervous system disorders. "This became the pinnacle foundation for spinal cord research," Sanberg said.
Reeve also helped establish the Reeve-Irvine Research Center at the University of California Irvine College of Medicine, which focuses on spinal cord trauma research.
The actor took advantage of his fame and misfortune by lobbying for more money at all levels. Thanks partly to his efforts, the National Institutes of Health budget more than doubled, from $12 billion in 1998 to nearly $27.2 billion in 2003.
The passing of the New York State Spinal Cord Injury Research Bill, which earmarks up to $8.5 million annually in funds collected from motor vehicle violations to medical research, was also largely Reeve's success. He was also involved in getting similar bills passed in New Jersey, Kentucky, Virginia and California.
"He was a tremendous advocate at all levels for lobbying for more money from both the federal government and local governments to spend more money," said Marie T. Filbin, a professor of biology at Hunter College in New York City. Filbin's group just received a grant of $15 million over five years from this program.
Like Nancy Reagan, Reeve was an outspoken proponent of stem cell research, and also testified before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies in favor of federal funding for this type of research.
"I think that his most important contribution has been the relentless and aggressive lobbying of our Congress, our president, our political system to educate them on the difference between therapeutic and reproductive stem cell research," said Dr. Barth Green, president and co-founder of the Miami Project and chairman of neurosurgery at the University of Miami School of Medicine. "He parlayed his tremendous charisma, his public image, his connections to try and accelerate the efforts towards a cure for paralysis."
"I hope the momentum will continue," Green went on. "I can't imagine his wife, Dana, won't become Nancy Reagan's soul sister... She will be freed of a lot of her responsibility for taking care of him and could use her energy to finish what he started."
In addition to research, Reeve also brought much-needed attention to lifestyle issues. He worked on quality of life issues for the disabled as vice chairman of the National Organization on Disability (N.O.D.) and also helped pass the 1999 Work Incentives Improvement Act, which allows people with disabilities to work and still receive disability benefits.
"Because he was Superman and he was Christopher Reeve, he gave lots of people hope that they could have normal lives," Zeldis said.
More information
Learn more about spinal cord injury at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
