'This is groundbreaking for the entire field and offers a new outlook that the spinal cord, even after a severe injury, has great potential for functional recovery'

PARIS, France Scientists on Tuesday, April 8 reported progress in a technique to stimulate the lower spinal cord in paraplegics to help them recover lost nerve function.

Cautiously tested on a single patient 3 years ago, the technique has been trialed on 3 other young men who had been paraplegic for at least two years after road accidents, they said.

After the patients were given an implant to stimulate nerve bundles in the lower spine, they were able to voluntarily flex their knees and shift their hips, ankles and toes, the team reported in a published study.

The 4 were not able to walk but could bear some weight independently -- a key phase towards this goal -- and experienced a "dramatic" improvement in wellbeing, they added.

Claudia Angeli of the University of Louisville's Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center (KSCIRC) said two of the men had been diagnosed not only as paralysed in the legs, but also lacking lower-body sensation, with no chance of recovery.

"This is groundbreaking for the entire field and offers a new outlook that the spinal cord, even after a severe injury, has great potential for functional recovery," Angeli said in a press release.

Paralysis comes from damage to the spinal cord down which the brain sends electrical signals along nerve fibers to instruct limb movement.

Decades of experimental effort have been devoted to reconnecting severed fibers through surgery or regrowing them through drugs or stem cells.

Read the original:
Scientists make progress in treating paralysis