spinal cord injury patient walking??

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PinchandBurn

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Let's all say it together: "He's not walking independently..."

He has increased standing endurance, trace supraspinal (voluntary) activation of toe extensors, some improved sphincter control, and a little better thermoregulation. All this after 26 months of intensive locomotor rehabilitation. Let's put this in some context:

1) He was incomplete (ASIA B) to begin with. All of us physiatrists have seen motor incomplete para's regain some function below the level of their injury years after being injured...no news here. Rarely is it of any practical or functional significance.

2) It's a N=1 study.

3) "He's not walking independently."

I only emphasize the above because, as we are all aware, SCI-patients are among the most vulnerable members of are community and are at high risk for being victimized for medical fraud. Those of us who have taken care of SCI patients longitudinally all have stories about them being fleeced for some times hundreds of thousands of dollars for bogus stem cell therapy, bogus rehab, bogus neuro-prostheses.

I am excited by the possibilities that this "proof of concept" study raises. Those of us who practice neuromodulation know that its effects extend beyond the dorsal columns.

But, please counsel patients appropriately and embed these results in what is already well-established in the SCI medical literature: SCI experts agree that the ultimate functional outcome for any given SCI is determined within hours of sustaining that injury. Intensive medical rehabilitation ensures that SCI patients obtain the highest level of function *possible* given the extent of their injury. The only interventions shown to improve quality of life and decrease mortality and morbidity in SCI-injured patients are medical rehabilitaiton and longitudinal care by a provider knowledgable in neurological rehabilitaiton.
 
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drusso, can you be MY doctor? joking (kind of)
 
This is along the lines of the media furor over Christopher Reeves moving a toe a few years. OMFG, HE"S GONNA WALK AGAIN!1!!

It is another step in the direction of the Bionic Spinal Cord. It is a positive, but we have to be very cautious, as the SCI population is constantly on the lookout for the next miracle.
 
I agree n=1.

Nonetheless, this is exciting for the neuromodulation community, but also the SCI community.

Obviously this is far from being perfected by any means, however it's a great step in the right direction.
 
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P.S. -- Please do all you can to let those in need and those who have an interest in ending spinal cord paralysis know about this web site. Also, please print out this information into a hard copy. The more people that take an interest and get involved, the sooner the scourge of spinal cord paralysis can be put behind us.

Wonder if poster has "anything" to do with website
 
"The findings appear to show that the legs and spinal cord, not the brain, are in control of movement. That means interruption of messages from the brain may not preclude paralyzed patients from walking again — they would just need new electrical signals to stimulate the spinal cord."

Ugh this paragraph.... so signals from the brain aren't in control of movement, but if you sever those connections a patient can't move distal to the lesion? *head explode*
 
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