New Electrical Stimulation Therapy Allows Paralyzed Patients to Walk Again
- New Electrical Stimulation Therapy Allows Paralyzed Patients to Walk Again
by https://sputniknews.com/
Two recently published studies demonstrating the ability of epidural electrical stimulation (EES) to restore motor ability in some patients with complete spinal cord injuries provide a powerful proof of concept for healing partially paralyzed people.
–
Simultaneous studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine and in Nature Medicine on September 24 report that following months of EES, patients who had no “voluntary movement or sphincter function below the level of injury,” but retained some sensation, were able to recover some of their mobility and walk upright using a walker.
–
The first study saw researchers from the University of Louisville heal two of four patients in their test to the point that they “achieved over-ground walking (not on a treadmill),” a process that for one person took 278 sessions of epidural stimulation and gait training and the other 81 sessions over a period of 15 weeks. All four achieved, at the very least, independent standing and trunk stability, according to the study.
–
The second study, done by the Mayo Clinic, reported on only a single patient, but that person, using a similar method for 43 weeks of “dynamic task-specific training in the presence of EES, termed multi-modal rehabilitation (MMR),” was able to regain “bilateral stepping on a treadmill, independent from trainer assistance or BWS [body weight support system],” the study reported. Further, the therapy “enabled independent stepping over ground while using a front-wheeled walker with trainer assistance at the hips to maintain balance” and “engaged sensorimotor networks to achieve dynamic performance of standing and stepping.”
–
read more.
end