Washington, Oct 29 (PTI) Electric stimulation to spinalcord has helped a 32-year-old man - who was left paralysedfrom the waist down after a motorcycle accident - stand on hisfeet and move again, researchers say.
The paraplegic man has lost the use of his legs followingcompletely severing his spine in the crash, and had made noprogress despite 80 sessions of regular physiotherapy.
According to a study published in the journal ScientificReports, doctors were able to re-awaken his nerves usingspinal cord epidural stimulation (scES).
Researchers at the University of Louisville in the USplaced a stimulator inside the body and wired it to thecentral pattern generator (CPG) - a mini-brain within thespinal cord that is able to interpret sensory information andmove muscles accordingly.
When switched on it sends commands such as 'move my rightleg' which awaken nerve cells in the spinal cord andeventually, over time, allow new neural pathways to form tothe brain.
After 44 months of training the patient was able to standindependently, even when the device was not switched on andmove his limbs, 'The Telegraph' reported.
"These findings show the remarkable recovery potential ofthe human nervous system after chronic clinically motorcomplete spinal cord injury and have clear implications forthe rehabilitation community," said Susan Harkema from theUniversity of Louisville. PTI MHNMHN.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.
