Breakthrough spinal implant helps paralyzed men walk again

Three paralyzed men who sustained cervical spinal cord injuries many years ago are now able to walk with the aid of crutches or a walker thanks to new rehabilitation protocols, which combine targeted electrical stimulation of the lumbar spinal cord and weight-assisted therapy. This latest study, called STImulation Movement Overground (STIMO), was led by researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and Lausanne University Hospital (both Switzerland). The results have been published in Nature and Nature Neuroscience. STIMO establishes a new therapeutic framework to improve recovery from spinal cord injury. All patients involved in the study recovered voluntary control...