This Groundbreaking Combination of Scientific Treatments Could Mean A Cure For Paralysis

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Scientists in Switzerland treated paralyzed rats through a combination of chemical, electrical, and physical stimulation. They found that the paralyzed rats who underwent treatment could walk again some could even run.

In the past, scientists have individually tested chemical, electrical, and physical training therapies on paralyzed humans but until now they have never tested a combination of all three technologies at once.

NeuroscientistGregoire Courtine,the study's lead author, told ABC Newsthat the technique "will not make miracles" and it will not completely cure a spinal cord injury, but that it does offer "new therapeutic avenues for these very traumatic injuries" through the combination ofexisting therapies.

First the researcherssevered halfway through the spinal cords of a group of rats in two areas separated by an inch on opposite sides of the cord. This left some tissue intact but no direct nerve connections so that the rats could not move their hind legs.

A week later the rats were placed on a program of chemical injections, electric stimulations to the spinal cords,and physical therapy. (A few rats served as a control group and did not receive treatment.)

Here's what the treatment entailed:

The treadmill rats still couldn't walk unaided, but they had experienced a "nearly complete" regrowth of spinal nerve fibers that re-established the severed connections between brain and hind legs. The study noted that the untreated and treadmill-only rodents did not regain voluntary movement in their paralyzed legs.

NeuroscientistNaomi Kleitmanof the U.S.National Institutes of Health (NIH) told National Geographic that studies "like this one show it's worth trying" to design treatments forseverely paralyzed people. However, other neurologists cautioned that much more research is needed before the techniques can be tested in humans.

The research is exciting for the treatment of human paralysis because the methods used in this study electrical stimulation, chemical stimulation, and physical therapy are already being tested on humans individually, but have never been tried before in combination.

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This Groundbreaking Combination of Scientific Treatments Could Mean A Cure For Paralysis