Researchers at the Neurorestore research center created a device that allows paralyzed patients with no sensation in their legs to walk again, providing hope for others with complete spinal injury. More remarkably, the team discovered the specific neurons that take over the signaling function between the brain and muscles to permit movement in response to the device’s electrical stimulation, offering a path forward for researchers, clinicians and patients affected by a wide range of neurological disorders.
LONDON – Three patients with complete spinal cord injury are able to walk independently after having specialized electrodes implanted below their lesions. The details were published in Nature Medicine on Feb. 7. This is a significant new milestone for the researchers at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, who in 2018 delivered proof that electrical stimulation can reactivate spinal neurons, in that case in three patients with partial spinal cord injury. “Here for the first time, we have developed purpose-made technology in order to precisely stimulate the spinal cord to restore movement after paralysis,” said Gregoire Courtine, professor of spinal cord repair at EPFL.
