Paralyzed man can run again by electrical stimulation of the spine

Will paralyzed people be able to walk again in the future??

Researchers have now found that people who have actually been diagnosed with being paralyzed for life can walk by electrical stimulation of the spine.

Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the University Hospital of Lausanne have found in their current research that electrical stimulation of the spine in paralyzed people causes them to go away. The physicians published the results of their study in the English-language journal "Nature Neuroscience".

Electrical stimulation of the spine reactivates nerve connections

Electrical stimulation of the spine can apparently reactivate the nerve connections and give people hope even after accidents that they can run again later in their lives, explain the experts. The team of neurosurgeons and engineers used targeted electrical impulses to get the results and trigger each muscle in a sequence as the brain would.

Patients were able to walk short distances again

The impulses are generated by an implant that is positioned above the spine and carefully aligned with areas that control the muscles in the lower body. The results are promising so far, say the researchers. A 35-year-old patient who was diagnosed with a traffic accident and could never walk again was able to travel short distances after only five months of treatment, even without help. The pioneering treatment with electrical stimulation of the spine allows paralyzed patients to walk again and apparently the treatment can reactivate the nerve connections. A 28-year-old subject was able to walk for up to two hours with an assistant using electrical stimulation. After the five-month program, the affected person was able to cope with short distances without help.

Paralyzed people could later activate muscles without stimulation

Previous studies used so-called continuous electrical stimulation of the spine, which worked well in rats but provided less impressive results in humans. However, the results were better in the current study. After several months of training with targeted impulses, the three participants were able to activate their previously paralyzed muscles without electrical stimulation. Such an outcome was also completely unexpected for the scientists, explains study author Gregoire Courtine of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

Further research is needed

The subjects could even take a few steps without any support, this recovery was really amazing, the researchers report. It was unbelievable to see how patients moved their legs without electrical stimulation, adds study author Jocelyne Bloch from the University Hospital of Lausanne. The experts say, however, that all three patients continue to rely mainly on wheelchairs. In addition, the study focused on patients who still had feeling in the lower body. The experts hope that the novel technique will be combined in the future with biological treatments that repair the nerves. (As)