Electrical stimulation enables man to walk after spinal cord paralysis
Researchers have used epidural electrical stimulation (EES) to restore movement in three individuals with complete spinal cord injury (SCI), enabling them to walk again.
Globally, between 250,000 and 500,000 people suffer a SCI each year. SCIs can result in paralysis, limiting someone’s ability to move, which can have devasting health, economic and social consequences. Now, researchers led by Grégoire Courtine (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne; Switzerland) and Jocelyne Bloch (Lausanne University Hospital; Switzerland) have further developed EES, an existing technology, to restore motor function to three men after paralysis from complete SCI, allowing them to walk again.
EES, which was originally developed to treat chronic pain, has previously been used to enable individuals with motor complete paralysis to walk; however, this was only achieved after many months of intense training and required the assistance of multiple physical therapists. The researchers hypothesized that changing the arrangement of implanted electrodes to target the ensemble of dorsal roots involved in leg and trunk movement would result in superior efficacy.
They were right. By pairing the electrodes with a new software that maps each patient’s spinal cord in great detail and can be controlled via a tablet, precise groups of nerve cells can be stimulated to make a desired movement, such as walking, swimming or climbing stairs.
“Our stimulation algorithms are still based on imitating nature,” explained Courtine. “And our new, soft implanted leads are designed to be placed underneath the vertebrae, directly on the spinal cord. They can modulate the neurons regulating specific muscle groups. By controlling these implants, we can activate the spinal cord like the brain would do naturally to have the patient stand, walk, swim or ride a bike, for example.”
Amazingly, the individuals treated were able to walk within a day of their post-surgery recovery period. “After 1 day I was able to walk if my body was supported,” commented Michel Roccati, one of the people who received the implant.
The researchers stress that this is not a cure for SCI as the technology is still too complicated to be used in everyday life but it is a significant step to improving the quality of life of people with SCIs.
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