The researchers said that deep stimulation of a specific area of the brain led to an improvement in the lower limbs regaining the ability to move in two patients who suffered from severe injuries in the lower limbs. Spinal cord.
According to a study published in the journal Nature Medicine, Deep brain stimulation In the lateral hypothalamus, it “immediately enhanced walking ability” in mice, rats, and two humans.
This type of stimulation has been used to treat Parkinson’s disease (Parkinson’s disease) and other movement disorders and target other areas of the brain, but it has not been tried to treat spinal injuries.
According to the study, in both patients, the spinal cord, despite being injured, was still able to send some signals to and from the brain.
Patients’ experience
Jocelyn Bloch, who led the study from the Polytechnic Federal College of Lausanne, said: “Once the electrode was placed and the stimulation was performed, the first patient immediately said that she felt, ‘I feel my legs,’ and when we increased the stimulation, she said, ‘I feel the need to walk.’”
“These reactions confirmed that we had targeted the correct area, even though it has never been associated with leg control in humans,” Bloch added.
She continued: “At this moment, I realized that we were witnessing an important discovery.”
The other patient (54 years old) had been using a wheelchair since a skiing accident in 2006.
He said that shortly after treatment, he was able to walk “a few steps” and “reach things in the kitchen cabinets.”
The two patients also showed long-term improvement that persisted even when the stimulation was stopped, the researchers said.
