Non-Invasive Spinal Cord Stimulation Gets Paralyzed Legs Moving Again

schwit1 writes: A new technique called transcutaneous stimulation has allowed five men with complete motor paralysis regain the ability to move their legs voluntarily and produce step-like movements. The treatment requires no surgery and adds to prior work to help paralyzed people gain voluntary movement through electrical stimulation (one completed in 2011, the other in 2014). Gizmag reports: "The new treatment uses a technique called transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, which involves strategically placing electrodes on the skin of the lower back. While receiving stimulation, the men's legs were supported by braces that hung from the ceiling. At first their legs only moved involuntarily, if at all. But they soon found they could voluntarily extend the distance their legs moved during stimulation. They doubled their range of voluntary motion after four treatment sessions."

Comments

Looks promising

[The Real Dr John]

They have more work to do but this looks quite impressive considering. The patients had slight movement before the treatment, so there were functioning fiber connections, but the ability was minimal. After treatment, there was much greater control. An excellent start on getting this to work with some patients.

Re:Looks promising

[The Real Dr John]

The video linked to at the bottom of the article showed very slight movement when their legs were tethered to keep them suspended. It was very minimal, and would not be usable for any actual movement. But it indicate that some nerve fibers must still have been connected.