A new article in Nature Medicine (nature.com) has revealed an extraordinary development for those with spinal cord injury. The title of the article is “Activity-dependent spinal cord neuromodulation rapidly restores trunk and leg motor functions after complete paralysis.”
Michel Roccati is a recipient of this extraordinary technology. Michel was paralyzed after a motorbike accident five years ago. His spinal cord was completely severed – and he has no feeling at all in his legs. But now because of an electrical implant, he can walk. Epidural electrical stimulation (EES) targeting the dorsal roots of lumbosacral segments restores walking in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). The electrical implant that Michel received has been surgically attached to his spine. This is an amazing breakthrough. However, as always scientists are cautious. They reiterate that this technology, while promising, still requires more research. Yet, it is a very exciting development for those with spinal cord injuries.
So far nine people have received the implant and regained the ability to walk. None of them use it to help them walk in their everyday lives – because it’s too complicated at this stage. Instead, they use it to practice walking – which exercises their muscles, improves their health – and often, restores a little bit of movement.
There is still a long way to go before the technology can be used routinely to help paralyzed people to walk, according to Professor Grégoire Courtine, who led the team that developed the technology at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). “This is not a cure for spinal cord injury. But it is a critical step to improve people’s quality of life. We are going to empower people. We are going to give them the ability to stand, to take some steps. It is not enough, but it is a significant improvement.”
A cure would require regeneration of the spinal cord, possibly with stem cell therapies, which are still at a very early stage of research. Professor Courtine believes that his implant technology could be used in conjunction with nerve regeneration treatments once they are ready.
There is hope with new trials in medicine