New Electrical Stimulation Spinal Cord Injury Treatment Receives Award

UCLA researchers Yury Gerasimenko and V. Reggie Edgerton, CalTech bioengineer Joel Burdick, and Susan Harkema, Rehabilitation Director at the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, are the recipients of a 2011 Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award for their work on a new treatment that restores some voluntary movement in spinal cord injury patients by applying electrical stimulation directly onto the spinal cord. Also a recipient was their star patient, 25-year-old paraplegic Rob Summers, who was the first human ever to undergo this treatment.

V. Reggie Edgerton (center) and Yuri Gerismenko (right)

Summers was left paralyzed from his chest down after a 2006 hit-and-run accident crushed his dreams of playing in the Major Leagues. His injury and athletic dedication made him ideal for the treatment, which began after he underwent 24 months of physical therapy.

The researchers implanted an array of electrodes over the lumbosacral (lower) spine, then transmitted electrical pulses directly to the spinal cord. The electrical impulses amplify motor commands to the injured area. Edgerton and Gerasimenko believe the electrical impulses also activate local circuits in the spinal cord that produce movement but are indirectly controlled by the brain. Edgerton said the spinal cord is “smart, and it’s plastic.”

“That is, it can change. It can even learn motor tasks,” he said.

Joel Burdick

According to Edgerton, a combination of electrical stimulation with repetitive movement involved in locomotor training will awaken the neural circuits that transmit signals to certain parts of body.

“This can happen without any input from the brain,” he added.

After undergoing the experiment, Summers recovered unprecedented mobility for a person with complete paralysis. “The third day they turned it on, I stood independently after not moving anything in four years,” he said. With stimulation he can bear his body weight for four minutes–or longer with assistance, move his hips, knees, ankles and toes and take some steps on the treadmill.

Susan Harkema

Summers also regained some of his bodily functions, such as being able to sweat. This allowed Summers to be a guest pitching coach at a recent Florida baseball camp, something that wouldn’t have been possible before.

“Prior to that, my body couldn’t handle the heat,” he said.

The researchers have been approved to conduct their experiment on more human patients. Although they were very pleased with Summers’ results, they refrained from being overly optimistic. However other researchers in their same field are very encouraged by recent developments in paralysis cures and believe that “the time has come for spinal-cord-injured patients to move.” These are exciting times, indeed!

For more information about this research, please see our previous blog entry:
Paraplegic Regains Voluntary Movement, Stands and Takes Steps.

Source:
popularmechanics.com/science/health/breakthroughs/how-electrical-pulses-can-defeat-paralysis

Image sources:
popularmechanics.com
123people.co.uk
alumni.caltech.edu
louisville.edu