Kent Stephenson lies down during voluntary training while Katelyn Gurley (not seen) tracks his level of muscle activity and force at the Human Locomotion Research Center laboratory, Frazier Rehab Institute, as part of the University of Louisvilles Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Photograph: University of Louisville/Handout via Reuters Four men who had each been paralysed from the chest down for more than two years and had been told their situation was hopeless regained the ability to voluntarily move their legs and feet - though not to walk - after an electrical device was implanted in their spines, researchers reported today. The success, albeit in a small number of patients, offers hope that a fundamentally new treatment can help many of the millions of paralysed people.Even those whose cases are deemed so hopeless they are not offered further rehabilitation might benefit, scientists say. The results also cast doubt on a key assumption about spinal cord injury: that treatment requires damaged neurons to regrow or be replaced with, for instance, stem cells. Both approaches have proved fiendishly difficult and, in the case of stem cells, controversial. The big message here is that people with spinal cord injury of … Continue reading →

Scientists have reported progress in a technique to stimulate the lower spinal cord in paraplegics to help them recover lost nerve function. Cautiously tested on a single patient three years ago, the technique has been trialled on three other young men who had been paraplegic for at least two years after road accidents, they said on Tuesday. After the patients were given an implant to stimulate nerve bundles in the lower spine, they were able to voluntarily flex their knees and shift their hips, ankles and toes, the team reported in a published study. The four were not able to walk but could bear some weight independently - a key phase towards this goal - and experienced a 'dramatic' improvement in wellbeing, they added. Claudia Angeli of the University of Louisville's Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center (KSCIRC) said two of the men had been diagnosed not only as paralysed in the legs, but also lacking lower-body sensation, with no chance of recovery. 'This is groundbreaking for the entire field and offers a new outlook that the spinal cord, even after a severe injury, has great potential for functional recovery,' Angeli said in a statement. Paralysis comes from damage to … Continue reading →

NEW YORK: Four men who had each been paralysed from the chest down for more than two years and been told their situation was hopeless regained the ability to voluntarily move their legs and feet though not to walk after an electrical device was implanted in their spines, researchers reportedyesterday. The success, albeit in a small number of patients, offers hope that a fundamentally new treatment can help many of the 6 million paralyzed Americans, including the 1.3 million with spinal cord injuries. Even those whose cases are deemed so hopeless they are not offered further rehabilitation might benefit, scientists say. The results also cast doubt on a key assumption about spinal cord injury: that treatment requires damaged neurons to regrow or be replaced with, for instance, stem cells. Both approaches have proved fiendishly difficult and, in the case of stem cells, controversial. The big message here is that people with spinal cord injury of the type these men had no longer need to think they have a lifelong sentence of paralysis, Dr Roderic Pettigrew, director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, part of the National Institutes of Health, said in an interview. They can achieve some … Continue reading →

The four men were able to move their legs thanks to the treatment[UNI OF LOUISVILLE/AP] The men, who took part in trials of the the treatment in the US, were able to wiggle their toes, lift their legs and even stand briefly, thanks to electrical stimulation of their spinal cords. Experts have hailed the venture as a life-changer for people who are confined to wheelchairs. The first individual to be treated by the team at the University of Louisville and University of California was Rob Summers, from Portland, Oregon. Three years ago Mr Summers, who is paralysed from the chest down after a hit-and-run car accident, was able to move his legs while supported on a treadmill after his spinal cord was electrically stimulated. In a new study published in the British neurological journal Brain, researchers gave an update on the success of his case. It also reported that three other men have now successfully undergone the treatment, which gave them some control of their legs, confirming that Mr Summers' case was not a one-off. Dustin Shillcox, 29, of Green River, Wyoming, was seriously injured in a car crash in 2010. Last year, he had an electrical device surgically implanted … Continue reading →

April 8, 2014 Image Caption: Kent Stephenson, the second person to undergo epidural stimulation of the spinal cord, voluntarily raises his leg while stimulated at the Human Locomotion Research Center laboratory, a part of the University of Louisville's Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, Frazier Rehab Institute, Louisville, Kentucky. Credit: Photo courtesy of the University of Louisville [ Watch the Video: Voluntary Training With Spinal Stimulation ] Brett Smith for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online A preliminary study from National Institutes of Health has found that people with paraplegia were able to voluntarily move previously paralyzed toes, ankles and knees while receiving electrical stimulation to the spinal cord. The study team, who published their results in the journal Brain on Tuesday, said their discovery offers new hope to individuals who have been coping with paralysis for years. When we first learned that a patient had regained voluntary control as a result of spinal stimulation, we were cautiously optimistic, said Dr. Roderic Pettigrew, director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) at NIH. Now that spinal stimulation has been successful in 4 out of 4 patients, there is evidence to suggest that a large cohort of individuals, previously with … Continue reading →