For our weekly segment of, “This Week In Science!”, I have just found that there have been patients to regain movement of their legs through epidural electrical stimulation.
The study was funded by the Christopher and Donna Reeves foundation and the results were published in the medical journal, Brain.
How It Works.
The treatment stimulates nerves using electric currents that the nerves would expect to hear from the brain.
In our bodies, our brains are the command centers for breathing, movement, speaking, everything. It is all done through electric commands sent into the various nerves in the body to have function for day to day function.
The four volunteers for this study were paralyzed in their legs; what that means is that they were not receiving the electric signals necessary for the the movement or the nerves were not reading the electric signals from the brain.
With this treatment, patients that had been long paralyzed were able to regain movement. This was voluntary movement, not forced movement.
Caution.
Now, while this is very good news and this treatment is relatively new, please keep in mind that it was some movement that was regained. They didn’t regain one hundred percent full movement back with this treatment- it was some. However, over time and with added stimulation and therapy, their movement has improved.
So, please, don’t think that this completely fixed them.
However, here is what it seems to have done-
What This Has Accomplished.
When the first volunteer was implanted, researchers were not expecting the results they received. They were not expecting the strong response that they witnessed.
The first volunteer (Rob Summers) was able to stand upon having the stimulator implanted into his back- this made international headlines in 2011.
Researchers think that the electrical stimulation is retraining the nerves to receive the electronic impulses from the brain again, despite all of the damage done to the nerves.
What This Now Means.
It means that, now, there is hope for those who have nerve damage in their legs that affects their lives.
There is hope that they can once again walk and, maybe, with time, regain the full functions of their legs that they had before.
Touch can be felt, movement regained, and the ability to be independent and to care for oneself can be regained.
This is truly a medical breakthrough of epic proportions.
That’s all for “This Week In Science!”
Edited/Published by: SB
