Member-only story
Paralyzed People Could Have A Potential Cure With A Recent Scientific Discovery
Now walking could be possible after paralysis.
Nine individuals with chronic spinal cord injury received spatiotemporal epidural electrical stimulation (EES) of the lumbar spinal cord.
And during neurorehabilitation, They regained the ability to walk to a study published this week in Nature Neuroscience.
The team obtained images depicting nerve cell activity in the spinal cord of individuals while they were walking and found that after treatment, the spinal cords showed less activity than before.
This reduction was unexpected and reflects how specific subpopulations of neurons become essential for patients to walk again after a spinal cord injury.
Surprisingly, blocking the activity of cells in healthy mice did not affect their ability to walk. A single population of excitatory interneurons is necessary for walking recovery following spinal cord injury. Suggesting these cells become crucial for recovery after spinal cord injury.
Researchers also studied gene activation in mice with injured spinal cords and found a specific subpopulation of neurons that helps with recovery. Blocking the activity of cells in healthy mice did not affect their ability to walk, suggesting these cells become crucial for recovery after spinal cord injury.
The study’s authors say this research should help doctors better target the right nerves during epidural electrical stimulation, which might improve the success of the therapy and reduce unwanted side effects.
A team study is currently conducting a clinical trial of a more targeted therapy for people with spinal cord injuries.
Final Thoughts
The study found that epidural electrical stimulation helps improve function in spinal cord patients, but more research is needed to determine if it is safe and effective.
One of neuroscience’s biggest challenges is discovering how different neurons work together to create complex behaviors, like walking.
They identify cellular and spatial sources of perturbation responses using appropriate methods that use similar single-cell genomics methods, which means looking at cells like the ones being studied.
The study hypothesized EESREHAB stimulation must engage and remodel essential yet unidentified neurons in the spinal cord that become necessary for walking after paralysis.
References
