Category Archives: Spinal Cord Injury Treatment

Four people who were paralyzed below the waist for more than two years were able to voluntarily wiggle their toes and flex their legs, thanks to a promising study that some are heralding as a breakthrough in spinal-cord-injury treatment. The key to the achievement, say the studys authors, was stimulation of the spinal cord using a commercially available electrical stimulator commonly used to treat pain. The device is surgically implanted just above the spines dura, in the epidura, where animal studies showed it could appropriately relay signals to the legs and lower extremities. What we have uncovered is a fundamentally new intervention strategy that can affect voluntary movement in people with complete paralysis, even years after their injury, says Susan Harkema, rehabilitation research director at the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center at the University of Louisville and the Frazier Rehab Institute. (MORE: Paralyzed Rats Learn to Walk Again in Rehabilitation Experiment) The study follows up the success Harkema and her colleagues had with one patient, Rob Summers. Summers had no motor control below the waist but retained some sensation in the lower extremities. He unexpectedly reported that when he thought about moving his leg, he was able to do … Continue reading →

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 →

In this undated photo provided by the University of Louisville, 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 Louisvilles Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, Frazier Rehab Institute, in Louisville Ky. (AP Photo/University of Louisville) LONDON Three years ago, doctors reported that zapping a paralyzed man's spinal cord with electricity allowed him to stand and move his legs. Now they've done the same with three more patients, suggesting their original success was no fluke. Experts say it's a promising development but warn the experimental treatment isn't a cure. When the implanted device is activated, the men can wiggle their toes, lift their legs and stand briefly. But they aren't able to walk and still use wheelchairs to get around. "There is no miracle cure on the way," said Peter Ellaway, an emeritus professor of physiology at Imperial College London, who had no role in the study. "But this could certainly give paralyzed people more independence and it could still be a life-changer for them." In a new study published Tuesday in the British journal Brain, researchers … Continue reading →

LONDON (AP) - Three years ago, doctors reported that zapping a paralyzed mans spinal cord with electricity allowed him to stand and move his legs. Now theyve done the same with three more patients, suggesting their original success was no fluke. Experts say its a promising development but warn the experimental treatment isnt a cure. When the implanted device is activated, the men can wiggle their toes, lift their legs and stand briefly. But they arent able to walk and still use wheelchairs to get around. There is no miracle cure on the way, said Peter Ellaway, an emeritus professor of physiology at Imperial College London, who had no role in the study. But this could certainly give paralyzed people more independence and it could still be a life-changer for them. In a new study published Tuesday in the British journal Brain, researchers gave an update on Rob Summers, of Portland, Oregon, the first to try the treatment, and described successful results for all three of the other men who have tried it. All had been paralyzed from below the neck or chest for at least two years from a spinal cord injury. The studys lead author, Claudia Angeli of … Continue reading →

The men responded instantly to the breakthrough treatment Method offers hope to thousands of people left paralysed by spinal injuries It involves giving the spinal cord an electrical stimulation Scientists say this teaches the spinal cord to control limbs and body By Jenny Hope Published: 19:56 EST, 7 April 2014 | Updated: 19:56 EST, 7 April 2014 Rob Summers, centre, receiving intensive physical therapy in Louisville, Kentucky Four men left paralysed in road accidents have been able to move their legs for the first time in years thanks to a pioneering procedure. The men, two of whom had been told there was no hope of recovering any movement, responded instantly to the breakthrough treatment. The method, which took 30 years to develop, offers hope to thousands of people left paralysed by spinal injuries. It involves giving the spinal cord an electrical stimulation to mimic signals from the brain. Scientists say this teaches the spinal cord to control limbs and body functions independently of the brain, so eventually the patient gains some control over their movement. The breakthrough was achieved by implanting a device, which is a few centimetres long and contains 16 electrodes, in the back. Read more here: Spinal … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 8-Apr-2014 Contact: Stuart Wolpert swolpert@support.ucla.edu 310-206-0511 University of California - Los Angeles Four young men who have been paralyzed for years achieved groundbreaking progress moving their legs as a result of epidural electrical stimulation of the spinal cord, an international team of life scientists reports today in the medical journal Brain. The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Louisville, UCLA and the Pavlov Institute of Physiology, was funded in part by the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. All four participants were classified as suffering from chronic, motor complete spinal cord injuries and were unable to move their lower extremities prior to the implantation of an epidural stimulator. The stimulator delivers a continuous electrical current to the participants' lower spinal cords, mimicking signals the brain normally transmits to initiate movement. The research builds on an initial study, published in May 2011 in the journal The Lancet, that evaluated the effects of epidural stimulation in the first participant, Rob Summers of Portland, Ore., who recovered a number of motor functions as a result of the intervention. Now, three years later, the key findings documented in Brain detail the impact of epidural … Continue reading →