Spinal-cord stimulation allows three paralyzed men to walk with assistance

Hi,
Is this topic still current and active?

Hi miletics,

First of all, welcome to our Community! Great that you found us 😊

May I ask what you mean with "current and active"? I have not read anything more after the results liked above were published. In the text it says, "Understanding the results in a larger population is a crucial next step.", so I guess the researchers are currently testing their method in a larger population.

On the Community blog, you can find an article where it is explained why this study and others often do not apply to many people with SCI. About this study, it says, "There are also studies which include only people with an incomplete spinal cord injury – the results are therefore especially promising for those people. This includes the Swiss study on epidural electrical stimulation (EES). The goal of using this method is to reactivate nerve fibers with electricity while bypassing the injury, which has interrupted communication between the brain, nerves and muscles. The less severe the injury is and the more intact the nerve fibers are, the more likely it is that the patients can benefit from this approach."

Please let us know if these points answer your question, otherwise we are happy to provide you with further feedback.

Kind regards,

Johannes

Compliments, I like your idea for the forum. I hope he will be active. I wondered if the discussion was still open.
EES has been a hot topic in recent years, both in research and as unproven therapies in Thailand. Personally, I think it is still far from usable.

All the best!

Hi miletics,

Thanks for your feedback. We also hope that this English forum will be more active, such as the German one.

By incredible incidence, just yesterday they were good news about this approach, which are now going through all German-speaking media: After months of training with a rollator, paraplegic patient Michel Roccati was able to walk 500 meters at a stretch, climb stairs up and down and swim again. Two other patients have regained some leg and trunk mobility, but cannot climb stairs.

This was made possible thanks to the electrical stimulation therapy from the research team of Jocelyne Bloch and Grégoire Courtine of EPFL Lausanne, which already showed the results link in the original post. So what is new now? For the first time, the method has been successful in someone with complete paraplegia, in contrast to the 2018 study where the patients had incomplete paraplegia.

However, experts say it is still unclear for which people with SCI the system is suitable. Moreover, they say that the gait achieved does not replace a wheelchair. In any case, much more research is needed to improve the method.

For more info, check this link: New implant offers promise for the paralyzed - EPFL

So I guess you are right that this is still far from usable, however, I think it is great news that the method can work also for people with complete SCI. Time will show how many people can really benefit from it, and when this might be the case. What do you think?

All the best,

Johannes

There was also a big boom in Italy last week, news on all sides. In my opinion exaggerated, it should be reported responsibly.