Psychology Today: Breakthrough Therapy May Help Paralyzed Patients Walk Again
"Patients with spinal cord injuries are told that if prolonged rehabilitation efforts don’t ultimately restore movement in their legs, they are highly unlikely to ever walk again.
But a clinical trial of spinal cord injury patients in Switzerland has shown that this grim prognosis doesn’t always have to be true, even in those who have been paralyzed for years.
Dr. Andreas Rowland and colleagues at Switzerland’s Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, in a February 2022 article in Nature Medicine titled “Activity-dependent spinal cord neuromodulation rapidly restores trunk and leg motor functions after complete paralysis,” demonstrated that a combination of sophisticated imaging, computer modeling, and implantation of customized spinal stimulators restored motor function in patients who had been paralyzed up to nine years.
Epidural Electrical Stimulation
The epidural electrical stimulation (EES) technique of the Swiss team built upon previous work that showed that stimulation of the dorsal roots of the spine (which contain sensory nerves from the trunk and legs) can, after many months of rehabilitation, restore some motor function in spinal patients.
Customizing for Each Patient
Theorizing that better results with EES could be achieved through careful study of the unique neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of each patient and subsequent delivery of customized treatment based upon the results of these studies, Rowland’s team undertook a meticulous, painstaking assessment of each patient using computed tomography (CAT) scans, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and electrophysiological recordings to construct ultra-sophisticated computer models of each patient’s spinal sensorimotor system.
Rowland et al. reported that “Within a single day, activity-specific stimulation programs enabled these three individuals to stand, walk, cycle, swim and control trunk movements.”"
*I thought the study that was conducted mentioned in this article was incredible! The fact that scientists are able to map each individual's neuroanatomy and neurophysiology and customize treatments based on the results is amazing to me. I think it's so interesting how far science is come and how much better we can help patients!*
Have you heard of any other instances of medicine being able to help patients that we previously thought medicine was not able to produce these results? What do you hope medicine is able to do next?
#Medicine #Health
Read the full article here.
@fruityPond7887 Thank you so much for this article! This is good news!
@skyfield01 It is very good news! I wish the media covered more positive news like this because everything always seems so negative, but this type of coverage is very important too! Thank you for taking the time to read!
@fruityPond7887 this is incredible! Hopefully with more research it becomes more accessible
I learned a while back of neuroplasticity aiding in recovering normal brain function post stroke attacks and the fact the neurogenesis does not stop after a certain point i.e. our brain cells continue regenerating :)
@zealousGrace5023 Oh wow! I knew that there was research on that, but I didn't realize that our brains were more plastic than we realize! For a while, there was the belief that neurons stopped regenerating or changing after a certain age, but I love the new research and findings they are sharing! It's so refreshing!
@fruityPond7887 i know right! I think it's crazy that it was really believed that brain cells just stop regenerating and changing.
@zealousGrace5023 Right! The human body is so amazing 😍
@fruityPond7887 it's incredible
@zealousGrace5023 It is! I always think how incredible development is and how everything little detail has to be correct for a healthy baby to be born. I also think it's really cool how stem cells differentiate and become all the different cells that work together to create a functioning person.
Stem cells are absolutely bonkers
the fact that a good chuck of our internal organs can just regenerate
w i l d
@fruityPond7887 @zealousGrace5023 Right! It's like we're part starfish 😂 Lol I'm just messing but it's SO true. I find it so fascinating how our body just knows these things
@fruityPond7887 we probably share more than 50% of our dna with them so we're totally part starfish 🌟💅
@zealousGrace5023 I love it!! 😍 Patrick Star is probably my 4th cousin removed lol
@fruityPond7887 Ngl i'm probably related to mr. krab lololol
@zealousGrace5023 Money money money 😈
@fruityPond7887 💅 💸💰
My blood green
lol fun fact horseshoe crabs actually tend to have blue/blue-green blood
@zealousGrace5023 Okay I actually used to think our blood was blue until it hit the air and oxygen turned it red 😂 I was very let down when I learned that wasn't the truth. Turns out it looks blue because blue light is reflected back to our eyes. Blue light does not penetrate human tissue as deeply as red light does.
@fruityPond7887 i thought the deoxygenated blood was blue haha
@fruityPond7887 This is wonderful! It's amazing to see how far we've come in terms of development in medical procedures. There's still a long way to go but we are inching forward!
@comfortableNight4463 Exactly! I love how medicine is becoming personalized to fit the needs of each individual because we are all different and we have different needs. Medicine should not be one size fits all!