New Hope for Those Living With Paralysis: Nerve Stimulation Therapy Could Allow Patients To Regain Arm Function

[Jessica-stormlover]

New Hope for Those Living With Paralysis: Nerve Stimulation Therapy Could Allow Patients To Regain Arm Function
https://scitechdaily.com/new-hope-for-t ... -function/
By Columbia University Irving Medical Center April 8, 2023
Spinal Cord Nerve Pain Illustration

A spinal cord injury is a serious medical condition that occurs when there is damage to the spinal cord, the central structure of the nervous system that runs from the brain down the back. This damage can result in a loss of movement, sensation, and other bodily functions below the site of the injury.

A promising nerve stimulation therapy has been developed at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, which has shown positive results in animal studies. This therapy has the potential to restore arm function in individuals with spinal cord injuries, offering a new hope for those affected by this debilitating condition.

“The stimulation technique targets the nervous system connections spared by injury,” says Jason Carmel, MD, Ph.D., a neurologist at Columbia University and NewYork-Presbyterian who is leading the research, “enabling them to take over some of the lost function.”

The findings were recently published in the journal Brain.
A personal quest to develop treatments for people with paralysis

In 1999, when Carmel was a second-year medical student at Columbia, his identical twin brother suffered a spinal cord injury, paralyzing him from the chest down and limiting the use of his hands.

Carmel’s life changed that day, too. His brother’s injury ultimately led Carmel to become a neurologist and a neuroscientist, with the goal of developing new treatments to restore movement in people living with paralysis.

In recent years, some high-profile studies of spinal cord electrical stimulation have allowed a few people with incomplete paralysis to begin to stand and take steps again.

Carmel’s approach is different because it targets the arm and hand and because it pairs brain and spinal cord stimulation, with electrical stimulation of the brain followed by stimulation of the spinal cord. “When the two signals converge at the level of the spinal cord, within about 10 milliseconds of each other, we get the strongest effect,” he says, “and the combination appears to enable the remaining connections in the spinal cord to take control.”

Awesome news! This would help alot of people.

 

[Moonglow]

I'd like to try it.