Amazing medical achievement helps paralyzed patients walk again

A new medical breakthrough has helped patients paralyzed by spinal cord injuries regain the ability to move their legs after training with an exoskeleton connected to their brains - and even walk on crutches.

Illustration photo. Source: Independent.

According to Independent, scientists who developed the Walk Again Project in Sao Paulo, Brazil believe that paralyzed people can walk again using an exoskeleton controlled by their thoughts.

But they were also surprised to discover that, during the training, all eight patients began to regain sensation and movement in the area below the injured spine.

Previously, researchers thought that the spinal nerves in the seven patients in the trial had been permanently damaged. But they now believe that some nerves were spared by the injury and were being reactivated by the exercise, rewiring the brain circuits.

“Although patient 1 was initially unable to stand when placed in an upright position with the help of the gripper, after 10 months of training, the patient was able to walk using a walker, the gripper, and the assistance of a therapist,” the researchers wrote in the journal Scientific Reports.

“At this stage, the patient can produce leg movements that simulate walking on the ground. Another example is patient number 7, who was able to walk with crutches, with his lower leg straight, without the help of a therapist.”

Dr. Miguel Nicolelis, director of the Center for Neuromechanics at Duke University, USA, said that previously the 7 patients participating in the study were all in a state of complete paralysis, but now they are only "partially paralyzed."

He also said their recovery will not stop here, and scientists are excited to witness an important milestone in research to support paralyzed people.

The patients’ exercise used virtual reality to control a computer avatar with a brain-computer interface. When they thought about walking forward, the avatar moved as if it were their own body. They also used the system to control a robot and then an exoskeleton worn by the patient.

What is most surprising is that this exercise seems to have an effect on the patient's own body.

“We found that long-term training with brain-machine interfaces in different contexts partially restored neural activity, as demonstrated by the partial recovery of motor and tactile functions in all patients. We think that, from an anatomical point of view, the injury did not destroy all the nerves in the spine. Some may have been undamaged but instead remained dormant for many years. The cortical representation suggests that these patients may have transmitted some signals from the cortex to the spinal cord, although there were very few nerves that had not been damaged by the previous accident.”
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“This is like turning them back on, and so the activity in the cortex is activating these nerves, and at the same time getting feedback from the peripheral parts (legs) because the patients are practicing walking.”
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Patients also regained some bladder and bowel control, and cardiovascular function improved. Scientists are not sure what other results the new technique will bring as patients continue to recover.

“We believe that our research will not only play a vital role in activating recovery in patients, but can also be a significant boost for paralyzed patients around the world. The scientists behind the Walk Again Project are seeing positive results in helping amputees walk again. Seeing the faces of young people walking for the first time in years is a life-changing image for all of us.”

According to Vietnamplus