New research and technologies are giving hope to people with paralysis.
According to a new study published in natural medicine.
“Using this technology, we were able to target people with the most severe spinal cord injury, i.e. those with clinically complete spinal cord injury, with no sensation or movement in the legs,” said the lead author. , Dr. Grégoire Courtine, professor. of neurosciences and neurotechnologies at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale, University Hospitals of Lausanne and at the University of Lausanne.
Although there is no connection between the brain and extremities after spinal cord injury, previous research has found that some patients with even a “complete” injury may have connections that still work, according to medical landscape.
Although recent studies from 2018 using pacemakers to treat chronic pain in spinal cord patients have shown promise, the technology is too narrow in scope to target all regions of the spinal cord involving control of leg movement and trunk, according to the report. added.
A cross section of a 3D printed adult human femur (image courtesy of Northwestern University)
Usually, in patients without spinal cord injury, the nerves in the spinal cord use signals to communicate with the brain to move the legs, but after a spinal cord injury, the nerve signals are too weak to create a movement, according to a TBEN. report.
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The report notes that the study inserted a paddle-like device that is embedded with electrodes to stimulate nerve signals to enable a patient to walk, with wires from those electrodes also connected to a neurostimulator that is implanted under the skin. skin in the abdomen, according to the paper.
Three men participated in the study, ages 29 to 41, all of whom suffered spinal cord injury from motorcycle collisions several years before entering the study so researchers know that their injuries were stabilized, according to medical landscape.
The outlet also noted that participants then used a tablet that communicated with the implanted device to select the activity they wanted to perform, such as walking or standing.
But Dr. Peter J. Grahn, assistant professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Department of Neurological Surgery, Mayo Clinic, author of one of the 2018 pain studies using stimulators, told Medscape although the technology of this study “is a huge step forward,” he questioned the study’s definition of market.
The author’s cervical spine before surgery showing spinal cord compression in three areas.
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“They say walking or independent walking is restored on day one, but graphs show that day one function is supporting over 60 percent of their body weight when they take these steps,” Grahn said. noted.
According to paper.
One of the participants, Michel Roccati, who was paralyzed after a motorcycle accident with no feeling in his legs, said: “I get up, I walk where I want, I can climb stairs – it’s almost normal life.”
Professional senior physiotherapist doing manual treatment to a man’s thoracic spine.
After receiving the spinal implant in August 2020, he could walk with body support within a day of the stimulation, which is 11 days after the procedure, according to STAT.
“I see the improvement every day,” he said. added.
Eellan Sivanesan, director of neuromodulation in the division of pain medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, told STAT that paddle implantation is a more invasive procedure than the typical spinal cord stimulation device, which requires surgeons to implant only through a needle, it may “limit the number of physicians readily able to apply the processing.”
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Additionally, since at least six cm of healthy spinal cord below the injury lesion is needed to implant the electrodes, not all paralyzed patients are eligible for the procedure, according to medical landscape.
“There is huge variability in spinal cord anatomy between individuals. That’s why it’s important to study each person individually and have individual models in order to be accurate,” said the co- author and neurosurgeon Dr Joceylyne Bloch, associate professor, University of Lausanne and CHU Lausanne.
Courtine also warns that the study technology is not a cure for patients with spinal cord injury, as it will require spinal cord regeneration, which current stem cell research is trying to address. but is only in its infancy, according to the TBEN.
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“It’s not a cure for spinal cord injury. But it’s a crucial step in improving people’s quality of life. We’re going to empower people. We’re going to give them the ability to stand, to take a few steps. It’s not enough, but it’s a significant improvement”, Courtine noted.