Clinical scientists are getting pretty good at stimulating the spinal cord in people paralyzed due to injury. A man in his 20s, who injured his spinal cord in an accident three years ago and completely lost ability to move his legs, is now able to make step-like motions while lying or standing with assistance, and can stand on his own with the help of something to hold on for balance.
He has an electrode array implanted into the epidural space, below the site of the injury, that is connected to an off-the-shelf electronic nerve stimulator. The stimulator was used off-label, but the FDA gave the green light to the procedure. Following the implantation, regular therapy sessions followed to prepare the patient who was able to achieve capabilities such as listed above within only two weeks consisting of eight stimulation sessions.
We hope these kinds of news become mundane and scientists achieve consistent unsupported walking in such patients. We’re glad that this idea no longer seems like a distant dream, but rather something that needs only more research work to perfect.
Study in Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Enabling Task-Specific Volitional Motor Functions via Spinal Cord Neuromodulation in a Human With Paraplegia…
Via: Mayo Clinic…
