In one of the most recent studies conducted on people paralyzed by spinal cord injuries, it was found that they could regain voluntary movement in their legs and feet. This is possible even years after the actual date of injury according to researchers.
With a combined effort of electrical stimulus and rigorous physical therapy have, in the past helped 3 men to with paraplegia wiggle their toes and ankles. After this therapy they were able to flex their legs and stand independently for short periods of time. This was according to a study published in the online medical journal Brain.
What was even more shocking is that the treatment actually worked with 2 patients with the most complete type of paraplegia.
ive just read this properly for the first time and i hope other members read this because its pretty amazing! If the worst case scenario is improved bladder/bowel and sexual function then even thats amazing.
I do hope research develops this successfully...electrical current/impulses can bring someones heart beating again, improve brain function for people with mental health issues and ease pain so really it no surprise i guess..
Seems this will initiate new areas of research so lets keep hoping!
Actually Lara, this is what I was trying to talk about in the thread I posted from my visit to the International Neural Regeneration Conference at Asilomar in California where Susan Harkema and G. Courtine were presenting their unpublished findings to the audience. I was immediately attacked by a member here for saying there was amazing results so the conversation and thread was abandoned. The publication in the journal BRAIN and the news media coverage could possibly be considered proof so maybe we would be allowed to safely talk about the subject now...
The transcutaneous and subcutaneous prototypes for both upper limb/hands and legs are listed on clinical trial.gov but they aren't recruiting yet for mild to moderate injuries. They're hoping to get the transcutaneous models into human trials before the more invasive subcutaneous model. They're a much more sophisticated 27 electrode array as opposed to the Medtronic 16 electrode array used for pain that they're using in their IRB patients at Louisville. After spinal cord injury, they're hoping to use it for other patient indications that could benefit from it. Hopefully it all comes to fruition.
You were 'attacked' by a member who questioning the findings yes grammy and you were reassured by me at that time that the member was being strictly moderated...
I contacted you via pm only yesterday to inform you that his account was now disabled. I trust you received the message...because as of yet...you still have not replied.
Back..to the thread topic...i think we have good reason to be very excited about this news!
You were 'attacked' by a member who questioning the findings yes grammy and you were reassured by me at that time that the member was being strictly moderated... :)
I contacted you via pm only yesterday to inform you that his account was now disabled. I trust you received the message...because as of yet...you still have not replied.
Back..to the thread topic...i think we have good reason to be very excited about this news! :)
No, I hadn't checked my messages yet. There is good reason to be excited all the way around! Thanks so much Lara.
ive just read this properly for the first time and i hope other members read this because its pretty amazing! If the worst case scenario is improved bladder/bowel and sexual function then even thats amazing.
Yeah that's exactly it Lαrα! All along researchers were trying to regain function but now it has been proven to work on humans! The answer really isn't too far away.
Some of my friends were posting the links to this news already yesterday evening, I just realized I should post it here quickly, well I kinda figured it will already be up
Sounds promising, but what are the next steps now? Electrostimulation of the spine proved to be successful, right? So, will they start selling the stimulators, or... ?
One more thing... I heard from some older (pessimistic) wheelchair users, that even when they gor injured, 10-20 years ago, everyone was telling them medicine and science are really close to finding the "cure". Is it really like this? Are they always just close? I havent been tracking the development in the previous years.
No offense, I am still super excited about this, I just dont want to wait years for some update, or publicly available solution... DJ, 5 years you say? and everywhere? Thats also one of my concerns, medical breakthroughs happen mostly in North America, will the solution go worldwide?
One more thing... I heard from some older (pessimistic) wheelchair users, that even when they gor injured, 10-20 years ago, everyone was telling them medicine and science are really close to finding the "cure". Is it really like this? Are they always just close? I havent been tracking the development in the previous years.
No offense, I am still super excited about this, I just dont want to wait years for some update, or publicly available solution... DJ, 5 years you say? and everywhere? Thats also one of my concerns, medical breakthroughs happen mostly in North America, will the solution go worldwide?
Im really sorry if I sounded too panicked
That's very true Europedude! People have always been saying the cure is close but they never actually had any results. Now they have seen results on humans so it's huge! I really think within the next 5 years and when it does happen, I don't see why it wouldn't be available worldwide.
Im not personally sure we can call this a potential and ultimate cure for everyone as yet Europedude. To what level of function is going to be possible i imagine is going to vary from one individual to another.
Im sure that it will be an opportunity that will be accessible worldwide.
At this point the breakthrough has been on significant improvements but will it get everyone walking again....to be honest i think we have to reserve some judgement on this just yet........