A new study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) says epidural stimulation, a form of electrical stimulation therapy, can help paralyzed men move again.
Epidural stimulation was used on four paralyzed patients, who regained some ability to flex their knees, toes and ankles, according to Fox News.
"The result of this study has been really exciting news for these four patients, which is that spinal cord injury may no longer mean a lifelong sentence of complete paralysis," said Dr. Roderic Pettigrew, director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) at NIH.
The study was published in the journal Brain, and suggests that electricity makes the spinal cord more receptive to the few messages that it receives from the brain, BBC reported.
The spinal cord carries messages from the brain to the rest of the body. However, the messages will not go through if there is any damage to the spinal cord. People with these types of injuries could lose all movement and sensation below the injury.
Researchers from the University of Louisville and the University of California have spent the last few years developing ways to treat spinal cord injuries with electrical stimulation, BBC reported. The team reported three years ago that Rob Summers, a baseball player who was paralyzed from the chest down in a hit-and-run car accident, was able to move his legs while supported on a treadmill. Today, three more patients, who had been paralyzed for at least two years, have regained some movement after going through the procedure.
The patients were able to control their legs accurately, and all but one of them were able to control the force of the movement.
"They will tell that the stimulation itself and being able to practice and move around makes them feel a lot better, some of them will just describe it as feeling alive again," said Dr. Claudia Angeli from the University of Louisville.
"Muscle mass increases significantly and they've all shown changes in bowel and bladder [function] as well."
Pettigrew said the success of the study is a huge milestone in treating spinal cord injuries, Fox News reported. The NIH is funding additional research, hoping that improved technology will lead to a cure for paralysis.
