Epidural stimulation therapy helps paralyzed patient regain movement

A collaborative group of researchers from Mayo Clinic (MN, USA) and the University of California, Los Angeles (CA, USA) has treated a patient with motor complete spinal cord injury with a combination of spinal cord electrical stimulation and intensive physical therapy. The results of this study, recently published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, saw the patient regaining control over some previously paralyzed movements for the first time in three years. The patient, a 26 year old male, had injured his spinal cord at the sixth thoracic vertebrae, leading to a loss of sensation below the middle of his torso. The team...