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Spinal cord damage repaired
From
New Scientist – Paralysis may no longer mean life in a wheelchair. A man who is paralysed from the trunk down has recovered the ability to stand and move his legs unaided thanks to training with an electrical implant.
A 16-electrode array implanted into the lower region of his spinal cord, which stimulated spinal nerves with continuous electrical activity and training helped to restore function.
Andrew Meas of Louisville, Kentucky, says it has changed his life (see “I suddenly noticed I can move my pinkie”, below). The stimulus provided by the implant is thought to have either strengthened persistent “silent” connections across his damaged spinal cord or even created new ones, allowing him to move even when the implant is switched off.
The results are potentially revolutionary, as they indicate that the spinal cord is able to recover its function years after becoming damaged.
Previous studies in animals with lower limb paralysis have shown that continuous electrical stimulation of the spinal cord below the area of damage allows an animal to stand and perform locomotion-like movements. That's because the stimulation allows information about proprioception – the perception of body position and muscle effort – to be received from the lower limbs by the spinal cord. The spinal cord, in turn, allows lower limb muscles to react and support the body without any information being received from the brain
The Journal of Neuroscience – Novel and Direct Access to the Human Locomotor Spinal Circuitry (2010)
See more and subscribe to NextBigFuture at 2012-10-24 23:17:34 Source: http://nextbigfuture.com/2012/10/spinal-cord-damage-repaired.html
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