<h2>In Your Bones</h2>
<p>When astronauts are in space, the reduced gravity means their bones don&#8217;t have to carry as heavy of a load as they do on Earth. This can lead to a loss of bone density that can affect the astronaut <a href="https://www.space.com/6354-space-station-astronauts-lose-bone-strength-fast.html">throughout their lifetime</a>, increasing their risk of breaking bones as they grow older.</p>
<p>Now, researchers in the United Kingdom think they&#8217;ve found a way to prevent this loss of density — and it involves literally <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-46953192" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shaking their legs</a>.</p>
<h2>Nano Kicks</h2>
<p>Through past research, scientists found that they could coax stem cells into becoming bone by vibrating the cells in a precise way that mimicked vibrations that occur naturally in the body to spur bone growth. The scientists could then transplant the new bone into a person in need of a graft.</p>
<p>A team from the University of Strathclyde is hopeful that it&#8217;ll be able to use the same technique, now known as <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-22035696" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nanokicking</a>, to turn stem cells into bone while they&#8217;re actually inside a person — eliminating the need for the transplant altogether.</p>
<h2>Spine to Space</h2>
<p>Like <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/astronaut-mice-iss-mars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">astronauts</a>, people with paralysis experience a high incidence of bone loss due to the disuse of their limbs. For their study, the Strathclyde team will spend the next two years vibrating the paralyzed legs of 15 volunteers with spinal injuries in an attempt to prevent bone loss.</p>
<p>The researchers noted in a <a href="https://www.strath.ac.uk/whystrathclyde/news/millionsofosteoporosissuffererscouldbehelpedbystrathclyderesearchproject/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a> that they plan to keep the U.K. Space Agency up-to-date on the study in the hopes that the nanokicking technology might one day help astronauts aboard the International Space Station avoid losing bone density while off-world.</p>
<p><strong>READ MORE:</strong> <a href="https://www.strath.ac.uk/whystrathclyde/news/millionsofosteoporosissuffererscouldbehelpedbystrathclyderesearchproject/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Millions of Osteoporosis Sufferers Could Be Helped by Strathclyde Research Project</a> [University of Strathclyde]</p>
<p><strong><em>More on astronaut health: <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/astronaut-mice-iss-mars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">20 Mice Are Going to Space to Help Us Figure out How to Survive on Mars</a></em></strong></p>


The therapy mimics the body's natural vibrations.

Vibrating astronauts’ legs could keep their bones strong

Bone Shaking

UK researchers are ready to launch a study in which they'll vibrate people's limbs in an attempt to prevent a decrease in bone density.

Vibrating Astronauts’ Legs Could Keep Their Bones Strong

Researchers are "nanokicking" stem cells into growing new bone.

<h2>Bionic Face</h2>
<p>A neural implant may soon be able to help people with facial paralysis smile and control their faces again.</p>
<p>The small prosthesis, referred to as a &#8220;bionic face&#8221; by the scientists who built it, analyzes and mimics the brain&#8217;s electrical signals to restore functionality to paralyzed face muscles, according to <a href="https://insights.ovid.com/crossref?an=00006534-201901000-00022">new research</a> published Tuesday in the journal <em>Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery </em>— yet another striking example of cutting-edge medicine that interprets brain signals in order to help patients.</p>
<h2>Natural Smile</h2>
<p>Previous research developed the idea of taking brain signals on the functional half of a face and copying them on the paralyzed side, but this new study worked out a lot of the kinks.</p>
<p>The ultimate goal is to restore natural movement to people with facial palsy or other conditions, but many previous attempts to harness facial electrical stimulation resulted in unnatural, asymmetric, and sometimes involuntary movements. Also, some studies were <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5760213/">limited to cadavers rather than live subjects</a>.</p>
<p>The new device, which is surgically attached to the nervous system, produced a variety of smoother, natural-looking symmetrical movements like blinking both eyes at once.</p>
<p>&#8220;Though the ultimate goal of reanimation is to restore dynamic motion of the entire facial musculature, restoration of three symmetric facial movements alone — brow elevation, blink, and smile — would dramatically improve outcomes,&#8221; said study author Dr. Nate Jowett, an otolaryngology at Harvard University, in a <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190103110716.htm">press release</a>.</p>
<h2>Neural Electrodes</h2>
<p>But even with this prosthesis&#8217; improvements over past attempts, it&#8217;s still a long way from becoming a clinical treatment. For starters, the researchers performed the experiment on mouse brains, not human ones. In other words, the bionic face-induced motions included eye blinks and a wide range of whisker movements and twitches.</p>
<p>For now, the bionic face is great for an experimental setup where mouse surgery is relatively simple and low-risk, but it&#8217;s not quite ready for our faces yet.</p>
<p><strong>READ MORE: </strong><a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190103110716.htm">&#8216;Bionic face&#8217; experiments could lead to new treatment approach for facial paralysis</a> [<em>ScienceDaily</em>]</p>
<p><strong><em>More on paralysis:</em></strong> <strong><em><a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/paralysis-electrical-stimulation-walking">ELECTRICAL STIMULATION HELPED A MAN WITH PARALYZED LEGS WALK AGAIN</a></em></strong></p>


The goal is to restore symmetric face movements.

A "bionic face" brain implant may treat facial paralysis

Big Smile

A neural implant nicknamed the "bionic face" can help treat facial paralysis by stimulating paralyzed muscles with electricity.

A “Bionic Face” Brain Implant Could Treat Facial Paralysis

The device copies neural activity from one half of the face and sends it to the paralyzed part.

<h2>Waiting Game</h2>
<p>People with paralysis are finding their way back into the workforce — thanks to a four-foot-tall robot.</p>
<p>On November 26, a <a href="https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/japanese-robot-cafe-dawn/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pop-up cafe</a> unlike any other opened in Tokyo, Japan. Instead of employing human waiters, or even <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-restaurant-robot-waiters-2016-7#these-ten-robot-waiters-serve-customers-in-chengdu-china-carrying-dishes-around-and-giving-simple-greetings-to-customers-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">autonomous robot waiters</a>, this cafe features robot waiters controlled remotely by people with paralysis — a mind-bending experiment about the future of work, disability, and technology.</p>
<h2>Dawn of a New Era</h2>
<p>The cafe, Dawn ver.β, is a joint venture between All Nippon Airways, the Nippon Foundation, and Ory, a Japanese robotics startup. Ory created the robots used at Dawn, which a person can instruct to move, speak, or carry objects simply by moving their eyes in certain ways.</p>
<p>Ten paralyzed individuals each earn the equivalent of $8.80 per hour to work at Dawn through their robot avatars. Several companies contributed the funds for the project, with crowdsourcing helping to raise the rest.</p>
<h2>Back to Work</h2>
<p>Dawn will close on Friday, but the people behind the <a href="https://futurism.com/the-evolution-of-automation-meet-the-restaurant-run-by-robots" target="_blank" rel="noopener">robot restaurant</a> are hopeful that a permanent version of it could open in 2020, <a href="https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/japanese-robot-cafe-dawn/">according to</a> <em>Digital Trends</em>.</p>
<p>Even if it doesn&#8217;t, though, the project serves as a captivating case study about the ways robots could create jobs for people who might otherwise not be physically able to participate in the workforce — a particularly welcome change from all the warnings about a future plagued by <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/automation-robot-steal-jobs-states" target="_blank" rel="noopener">robot-caused job losses</a>.</p>
<p><strong>READ MORE:</strong> <a href="https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/japanese-robot-cafe-dawn/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Robot Waiters in This Japanese Cafe Are Controlled by People With Paralysis</a> [<em>Digital Trends</em>]</p>
<p><em><strong>More on robotic restaurants: <a href="https://futurism.com/the-evolution-of-automation-meet-the-restaurant-run-by-robots" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Evolution of Automation: Meet the Restaurant Run by Robots</a></strong></em></p>


Here's a welcome change: robots *creating* jobs.

People with paralysis control the robot waiters at this cafe

Cyber Cafe

A pop-up cafe in Tokyo, Japan, employs people with paralysis who control four-foot-tall robot waiters remotely from their homes.

People With Paralysis Control the Robot Waiters at This Cafe

The bots are controlled through simple eye movements.

<h2>WALK THIS WAY</h2>
<p>For many patients, total lower limb paralysis caused by spinal cord damage means a lifetime in a wheelchair. But a new treatment might mean the diagnosis isn&#8217;t so permanent: A 29-year-old man paralyzed by a snowmobile accident in 2013 is walking again, according to a new paper, thanks to a device that delivers electrical stimulation to his spine.</p>
<p>“What this is teaching us is that those networks of neurons below a spinal cord injury still can function after paralysis,&#8221; said Kendall Lee, a neurosurgeon at Mayo Clinic&#8217;s Neural Engineering Laboratories who worked on the treatment, in a <a href="https://www.newswise.com/articles/view/700882/?sc=dwhr&amp;xy=10020831">press release</a>.</p>
<h2>SLOW AND STEADY</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-018-0175-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> published Monday in the journal <em>Nature Medicine </em>describes the new treatment. It started with 22 weeks of physical therapy for the patient, to ensure that he wouldn&#8217;t be able to regain his ability to walk on his own, Lee told reporters during a press briefing.</p>
<p>Then a<b> </b>neurosurgery team at the Mayo clinic implanted an <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/medtronic-gets-fda-approval-for-specify-5-6-5-surgical-lead" target="_blank" rel="noopener">electrode</a>, approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for pain relief, in the man&#8217;s back. Using a wireless controller, they could direct the device to provide pulses of electrical current straight to his spine.</p>
<h2>BABY STEPS</h2>
<p>During 113 rehabilitation sessions spread out over 43 weeks, the researchers tested various combinations of electrical stimulation and other variables, such as harness supports and treadmill speed. Little by little, he was able to move his legs — though at first he had to view his legs in mirrors to keep track of their placement, since they had no feeling, and trainers had to help him stand and shift his weight.</p>
<p>Eventually, the man was able to take 331 steps using a front-wheeled walker and occasional assistance from trainers. This was the equivalent of 111 yards, or more than the length of a football field. Turning off the device halted the man&#8217;s ability to walk, meaning the electrical stimulation was almost certainly the cause of his regained mobility.</p>
<h2>FIRST STEPS</h2>
<p>This isn&#8217;t the <a href="https://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-05/electrical-stimulation-spinal-cord-paralyzed-man-walks-again" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first time</a> electrical stimulation has helped a person walk, but the new study confirms that that first example was no fluke.</p>
<p>That&#8217;s the good news. The bad news is that the researchers have little idea <em>why</em> their treatment worked — just that it <em>did</em>. The next step, Lee said during the press briefing, will be to explore that question, and whether electrical stimulation can do the same for other patients.</p>
<p>The doctors have already started trying to answer it — they&#8217;ve implanted the device in at least one other patient, though Lee said it was too early to discuss those results. Still, if they&#8217;re as favorable as the ones released Monday, we could be on the path to a future in which total lower limb paralysis is no longer a lifetime diagnosis.</p>
<p><strong>READ MORE:</strong> <a href="https://www.newswise.com/articles/view/700882/?sc=dwhr&amp;xy=10020831" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spinal Cord Stimulation, Physical Therapy Help Paralyzed Man Stand, Walk With Assistance</a> [Mayo Clinic]</p>
<p><em><strong>More on paralysis: <a href="https://futurism.com/theres-a-100-million-plan-to-make-a-synthetic-spinal-cord-to-end-paralysis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">There’s a $100 Million Plan to Make a Synthetic Spinal Cord to End Paralysis</a></strong></em></p>


Total lower limb paralysis may no longer be a lifetime diagnosis.

Electrical stimulation helped a man with paralyzed legs walk again

Health & Medicine

With the help of electrical stimulation and physical therapy, a 29-year-old man diagnosed with total lower body paralysis can now take steps on his own.

Electrical Stimulation Helped A Man With Paralyzed Legs Walk Again

He took 331 steps, traversing more than the length of a football field. 

<h2>Like the Lamprey</h2>
<p>The lamprey looks about as different from a human as you can imagine. This fish has an eel-like, finless body, bulging eyes, and a circle of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamprey#/media/File:Boca_de_lamprea.1_-_Aquarium_Finisterrae.JPG" target="_blank" rel="noopener">frankly horrifying teeth</a> in place of a jaw, which some species use to latch onto other animals and suck their blood. Yet these alien-looking creatures share something fairly extraordinary with humans: we both contain genes that, in the lamprey, allows it to repair broken spinal cords. The discovery shows promise for medicine: if we could one day activate the same gene in humans, we could reverse spinal cord damage — even paralysis.</p>
<p>The genes were identified by a collaborative group of scientists at the Marine Biological Laboratories (MBL), the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University, the University of Kentucky and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.</p>
<p>In their study, injured lamprey went from full paralysis to normal swimming within 10 to 12 weeks.</p>
<div style="width: 720px;" class="wp-video">
<video class="wp-video-shortcode" id="video-118746-1" width="720" height="480" preload="metadata" controls="controls"><source type="video/mp4" src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2018/01/160338.mp4?_=1" /><a href="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2018/01/160338.mp4">https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2018/01/160338.mp4</a></video></div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&#8220;Scientists have known for many years that the lamprey achieves spontaneous recovery from spinal cord injury, but we have not known the molecular recipe that accompanies and supports this remarkable capacity,&#8221; says Ona Bloom, an associate professor at the Feinstein Institute and the Zucker School, <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/emb_releases/2018-01/mbl-gta011218.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in a press release</a>. &#8220;In this study, we have determined all the genes that change during the time course of recovery and now that we have that information, we can use it to test if specific pathways are actually essential to the process.&#8221;</p>
<h2>Anti-Paralysis Pathways</h2>
<p>In order to locate the precise genetic changes that allow lamprey to make this amazing recovery, the researchers had to start by first paralyzing the animals, which they achieved by making an incision in their spinal cords. The researchers then took samples from their brains and spinal cords, beginning hours after the injury and continuing over three months following. Those samples helped them identify what genes and signaling pathways — the proteins and other chemicals produced by cells to control their function — were activated in the injured animals.</p>
<p>The team identified one pathway in particular that was essential to recovery: if the <a href="https://www.cellsignal.com/contents/science-cst-pathways-stem-cell-markers/wnt-catenin-signaling-interactive-pathway/pathways-wnt">Wnt signaling pathway</a> was blocked, the animals were unable to recover. The researchers were also surprised to find that changes occurred not only in the injured spinal cord of the animals, but also in the brain.</p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OWNZ5axNadk?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>&#8220;This reinforces the idea that the brain changes a lot after a spinal cord injury,&#8221; said Jennifer Morgan, director of the Eugene Bell Center for Regenerative Biology and Tissue Engineering at MBL, in the press release. &#8220;Most people are thinking, &#8216;What can you do to treat the spinal cord itself?&#8217; but our data really support the idea that there&#8217;s also a lot going on in the brain.&#8221;</p>
<p>This discovery is likely a long way from being used for treatments, however. Now that researchers know what genetic changes occur during the recovery process, they will be able to test out turning genes and pathways on and off in order to hone in on the exact sequence required for healing. Once this sequence is defined, it could be tested in other animals.</p>
<p>These findings are part of a broader search for a way to treat, if not cure, spinal cord injury. Scientists have already made progress in using <a href="https://futurism.com/stem-cells-restore-paralyzed-rats/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stem cells in rats, </a><a href="https://futurism.com/paralyzed-monkeys-able-to-walk-again-with-brain-implant-human-trials-are-next/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brain implants in monkeys</a>, and even <a href="https://futurism.com/breakthrough-treatment-restores-voluntary-movement-to-paralyzed-mans-legs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">electric stimulation in humans </a>to partially or fully reverse paralysis.</p>

The gene and pathways that allow lampreys to spontaneously recover from spinal cord injuries are also present in humans.

Humans share genes with lampreys that repair the fish's spinal cord

A collaborative group of researchers have identified the genes and chemical signals that lampreys, an eel-like fish, can use to repair a broken spinal cord.

Humans Share Genes With Lampreys That Repair the Fish's Spinal Cord

These fish can go from paralysis to swimming in 10 to 12 weeks. 

Humans Share Genes With Lampreys That Repair the Fish’s Spinal Cord

<h2>Sense of Touch</h2>
<p>Sensory interneurons, the cells that give us our sense of touch, allow us to experience the world through tactile experiences that can become lost to us <a href="https://futurism.com/researchers-provide-the-first-evidence-that-a-new-kind-of-paralysis-treatment-is-effective/">in the case of </a><a href="https://futurism.com/researchers-provide-the-first-evidence-that-a-new-kind-of-paralysis-treatment-is-effective/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">paralysis</a>. This unique sense not only shapes our life experiences but helps keep us safe. It&#8217;s what allows us to perceive the potential danger of something like a hot stove or a sharp edge. A new study exploring these cells <a href="https://futurism.com/theres-a-100-million-plan-to-make-a-synthetic-spinal-cord-to-end-paralysis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hopes to find a way to restore sensation</a> to those suffering from paralysis. The study from UCLA, published <a href="http://www.cell.com/stem-cell-reports/fulltext/S2213-6711(17)30560-X" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in the journal </a><i><a href="http://www.cell.com/stem-cell-reports/fulltext/S2213-6711(17)30560-X" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stem Cell Reports</a>, </i>resulted in a remarkable first: researchers successfully <a href="http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/ucla-scientists-make-cells-that-allow-the-sense-of-touch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">coaxed human stem cells to become sensory interneurons</a>.</p>
<p>Led by Samantha Butler, a UCLA associate professor of neurobiology who is also a part of the Broad Stem Cell Research Center, the study built on <a href="https://stemcell.ucla.edu/news/research-redefines-proteins%E2%80%99-role-development-spinal-sensory-cells" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previous work published by Butler</a> and her colleagues in September. In the previous study, Butler and her team explored how certain proteins contribute to the development of sensory interneurons in chicken embryos. Their latest research took the principles and information gleaned from the previous study and applied them to human stem cells.</p>
<p>The team added proteins, which establish the structure bone with a signaling molecule, to human embryonic stem cells. This mixture created two separate types of sensory interneurons: dI1 sensory interneurons, which help us determine where our body is in relation to what&#8217;s around us in our environment and dI3 sensory interneurons, which give us the ability to feel pressure.</p>
<figure style="width: 639px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-118664 size-large aligncenter" src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2018/01/stemcelllllllls.jpg" alt="Human embryonic stem cell-derived neurons (green) showing nuclei in blue. Each side shows a different mixture to try to create sensory interneurons. Image Credit: UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center/Stem Cell Reports" width="639" height="399" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Human embryonic stem cell-derived neurons (green) showing nuclei in blue. Each side shows a different mixture to try to create sensory interneurons. Image Credit: UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center/Stem Cell Reports</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Restoring Feeling</h2>
<p>The team also found that they could create the same sensory interneurons mixture by adding signaling molecules to induced pluripotent stem cells. Induced pluripotent stem cells are created from the patient&#8217;s own cells, which are then &#8220;reprogrammed. This could give researchers the ability to better explore restorative treatments that work with the patients&#8217; body and reduce or eliminate the potential for rejection.</p>
<p>While this area of research is often focused on helping paralyzed patients walk again, Butler&#8217;s team is interested in restoring the broader experience of touch. In a press release from the <i>UCLA Newsroom</i>, she said “The field has for a long time focused on making people walk again. Making people feel again doesn’t have quite the same ring. But to walk, you need to be able to feel and to sense your body in space; the two processes really go hand in glove.”</p>
<p>That said, the team does hope their research could prove helpful in developing<a href="https://futurism.com/stem-cells-restore-paralyzed-rats/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> restorative therapies for patients with paralysis</a>. As Butler put it, “This is a long path. We haven’t solved how to restore touch but we’ve made a major first step by working out some of these protocols to create sensory interneurons.”</p>
<p>While the research marks a major first, there is still a lot of additional research to be done. Butler and her team hope that additional studies will help them exactify mixtures that would allow them to coax stem cells into a variety of different sensory interneurons.</p>


This mixture created two separate types of sensory interneurons: dI1 sensory interneurons and dI3 sensory interneurons.

Scientists coax human stem cells into becoming touch neurons

For the first time ever, researchers coaxed human stem cells into sensory interneurons, the cells that allow us to physically feel.

Scientists Coax Human Stem Cells Into Becoming Touch Neurons

This remarkable first could one day lead to innovative paralysis treatments. 

<h2>Spine Repair</h2>
<p>Advancements in spine repair could be propelling us into a future where a severed spinal cord is a treatable condition. A team of researchers from Israel&#8217;s Technion Institute of Technology and Tel Aviv University have reportedly enabled previously paralyzed rats to walk again. The group used a pioneering surgical procedure to repair the animals&#8217; spinal cords.</p>
<p>This medical feat, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2017.00589/full#h4">published in <em>Frontiers in Neuroscience</em></a>, was accomplished by placing stem cells taken from the mouth of an adult human onto a biodegradable, sponge-like scaffold. This was inserted at the <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-scientists-use-stem-cells-to-help-disabled-rats-walk-again/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">site of the spinal injury</a> in rats, bridging the gap and allowing instructions to be passed from the brain to the rest of the body.</p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/n7wal51Tgu8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>After two or three weeks, five of the 12 rats (42 percent) that received this treatment were able to start walking and were apparently moving around almost as a non-injured animal would. In addition to <a href="https://futurism.com/a-new-cell-therapy-successfully-restored-movement-in-paralyzed-patients/?src=featured" target="_blank" rel="noopener">improved mobility</a>, there were signs that these rats also regained sensory perception. The spinal cord regenerated to some extent in the other seven, but not enough to qualify as full recovery.</p>
<p>In comparison, none of the animals that did not receive this treatment <a href="https://futurism.com/spinal-injury-patients-could-regain-mobility-through-brain-computer-interfaces/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">regained their movement</a> and sensory perception.</p>
<p>Part of the reason why this procedure was successful is because it was performed shortly after the injury took place. If there was a longer wait before the surgery took place, it might not have the same results, as the damaged part of the spinal cord would have time to atrophy.</p>
<h2>From Rat to Human</h2>
<p>This study was commissioned by Israel&#8217;s Foundation for Spinal Cord Injury with the hopes that it could lead scientists to an <a href="https://futurism.com/breakthrough-treatment-restores-voluntary-movement-to-paralyzed-mans-legs/">effective treatment for humans</a>. Spinal injuries affect thousands of people, with <a href="https://www.nscisc.uab.edu/Public/Facts%202016.pdf">around 17,000 cases</a> being recorded in the U.S. annually.</p>
<p>These people could one day be helped by this procedure, the researchers believe. Daniel Offen, who led the team from Tel Aviv University, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/scientists-make-paralysed-rats-walk-again-using-human-stem-cells-2017-12">suggested to <em>Business Insider</em></a> that, at some point in the future, hospitals could keep a stock of frozen stem cells in order to give immediate treatment to patients who arrive with a spinal lesion. However, there&#8217;s a long way to go before that becomes a reality.</p>
<p>To date, no one has been able perform a successful spine repair in a human. However, there have been varying amounts of success in attempts to address spinal cord injuries in other animals.</p>
<p>In 2016, researchers released details of breakthrough procedure to <a href="https://futurism.com/scientists-restore-almost-perfect-motor-control-to-rat-with-severed-spinal-cord/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">return motor control to rats</a> who had suffered spinal injuries. This effort combined the <a href="https://futurism.com/potential-clean-unlimited-energy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">so-called &#8220;wonder material&#8221; graphene</a> with polymeric ethylene gycol to restore sensory function.</p>
<p>Another team managed to <a href="https://futurism.com/paralyzed-monkeys-able-to-walk-again-with-brain-implant-human-trials-are-next/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allow paralyzed monkeys to walk again</a>. This project used a system of electrodes, transmitters, and receivers to restore leg function. But, again, it&#8217;s thought that it will be decades before such a treatment could be feasible for humans.</p>
<p>There are still plenty more questions to be answered when it comes to repairing a human spinal cord. However, the multitude of avenues being explored, and their fruitful results, should offer some hope for the future.</p>


Researchers hope the procedure could one day be used to repair spinal cord injuries in humans.

Stem cells restore mobility and sensory perception to paralyzed rats

laboratory rat with red eyes looks out of plastic cage

A new spine repair procedure that uses human stem cells enabled about forty percent of paralyzed rats to walk again in as little as two to three weeks.

Stem Cells Restore Mobility and Sensory Perception to Paralyzed Rats

The treatment enabled about 40% of the paralyzed rats to walk again.

<h2>Reversing the Irreversible</h2>
<p>28 years ago, Andrew Meas broke his neck after a fall from a motorcycle — an accident that left him unable to move his limbs. Spinal cord injuries of this nature invariably lead to some form of paralysis (if not complete debilitation) that are usually deemed to be irreversible.</p>
<p>Meas, however, can now stand and move his legs. He was one of several patients with varying degrees of spinal injury who were given a novel treatment as part of research at the University of Louisville&#8217;s Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center (KSCIRC). In the study, researchers paired standard rehabilitation techniques with a fairly invasive method called spinal cord epidural stimulation (scES).</p>
<p>A device was implanted over Meas&#8217; spinal column to electrically stimulate the lumbosacral enlargement during his physical therapy sessions. After just 44 months of regular physical training and the scES, Meas was able to move his lower limbs without any help. &#8220;Activity-dependent plasticity can re-establish voluntary control of movement and standing after complete paralysis in humans even years after injury,” KSCIRC researcher Susan Harkema, senior author of the study that appears in the journal<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-14003-w" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> </a><i><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-14003-w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scientific Reports</a></i>, said in <a href="http://uoflnews.com/post/uofltoday/individual-with-complete-spinal-cord-injury-regains-voluntary-motor-function/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a press release</a>.</p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5qjWs_tuBCU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<h2>Recovery-Based Rehabilitation</h2>
<p>The conventional wisdom touted by experts has long been that, for patients who have suffered an injury like Meas&#8217;, recovery is highly unlikely. As lead researcher Enrico Rejc said in the press release, &#8220;It is commonly believed that one year from injury, you are classified as chronic and it&#8217;s likely that you will not improve any more. This data is proof of principle that the human nervous system has much greater recovery capabilities than expected.&#8221;</p>
<p>It&#8217;s particularly worth noting how the treatment involved is not just electrical stimulation (a growing field in rehabilitation medicine) but rather, a combination of the new method with regular physical therapy. Meas went through both a period of assisted therapy and standard training at home, and the research team credited his recovery as much to the amount of effort he put in as they did to their implant.</p>
<p>Indeed, the new research surpasses the limits of current recovery treatments. As Harkema noted, “This should open up new opportunities for recovery-based rehabilitation as an agent for recovery, not just learning how to function with compensatory strategies, even for those with the most severe injuries.”</p>


The new research surpasses the limits of current recovery treatments.

Breakthrough treatment restores voluntary movement to paralyzed man's legs

Human spine,computer artwork

The method uses electric stimulation through an implant on the spine and works in tandem with traditional rehabilitation techniques for paralyzed patients.

A Breakthrough Treatment Helped a Paralyzed Man Move His Legs Again

"This data is proof of principle that the human nervous system has much greater recovery capabilities than expected."

Breakthrough Treatment Restores Voluntary Movement to Paralyzed Man’s Legs

<h2>Successful Cell Therapy</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.newswise.com/articles/regenerative-medicine-restores-movement-after-paralysis" target="_blank">In a recent study</a>, six people suffering from spinal cord injuries that left them completely paralyzed and without motor function below the site of injury were treated with a new cell therapy. And, according to this new study, of those six people, four have so far recovered two or more motor levels on at least one side of their body. That is an impressive 67% recovery rate, a number that is typically unattainable for patients suffering from severe paralysis, in fact, it is roughly double the typical recovery rate for similar patients.</p>
<p>Within the study, the patients had 10 million of the studied cells injected surgically and, according to Dr. Richard G. Fessler, lead investigator of the study of AST-OPC1 nerve cells and professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, &#8220;Having worked on this research for more than 20 years, and given that we hadn’t seen any significant improvement before, these results are beyond anything I would have hoped for in the study.&#8221;</p>
<figure id="attachment_105387" style="width: 853px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img class="size-full wp-image-105387" src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2017/10/spine.jpg" alt="" width="853" height="1280" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">After severe spinal chord injury, patients regained motor function. Image Credit: Derks24 / Pixabay</figcaption></figure>
<p>Fessler continued, <a href="https://futurism.com/videos/this-brain-spine-interface-could-solve-paralysis/" target="_blank">“Normally with a spinal cord injury</a>, a person will improve for a month or two, but that’s it. We are 12 months out and we are continuing to see improvements in patients who receive the treatment. That’s vastly better than anything we’ve ever seen before&#8230;This is a meaningful improvement for a patient who is paralyzed in the neck. The patient goes from not being able to use his or her arms or hands, to being able to perform normal functions such as eating, writing/typing, all of the things we do with our hands every day.”</p>
<h2>A New Hope</h2>
<p>In the United States alone, <a href="https://www.christopherreeve.org/living-with-paralysis/stats-about-paralysis" target="_blank">1 in every 50 people lives with paralysis, which is approximately 5.4 million people</a> and currently, <a href="https://www.spinalcordinjuryzone.com/info/8995/one-degree-of-separation-paralysis-and-spinal-cord-injury-in-the-united-states" target="_blank">roughly 450,000 in the U.S. are affected by a spinal chord injury.</a> This is not as uncommon as many might think, but the symptoms and repercussions of such an injury are extensive and paralysis is often thought of as, at least mostly, irreversible. But this new cell therapy could be a step in the right direction towards rehabilitating those with severe spinal chord injuries.<figure style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/bioprinting-how-3d-printing-is-changing-medicine/"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2015/12/home.jpg" alt="Bioprinting: How 3D Printing is Changing Medicine" ></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text center"><strong><a href="https://futurism.com/images/bioprinting-how-3d-printing-is-changing-medicine/" target="_blank">Click to View Full Infographic</a></figcaption></strong></figure></p>
<p>Now, while the results of this study range from promising to life-changing, there are limitations and restrictions to using this therapy. AST-OPC1 was, in this study, administered 21-42 days after initial injury, but patients must be able to receive treatment 25 days after their injury, which is very quick. Additionally, patients can only receive the treatment if their spinal cords are not completely severed. However, despite these difficult restrictions, those that are eligible for this treatment have the potential to restore motor function, <a href="https://futurism.com/theres-a-100-million-plan-to-make-a-synthetic-spinal-cord-to-end-paralysis/" target="_blank">something that many treatments do not and can not hope for.</a></p>
<p>In the words of Christopher Block, a patient in this study in August 2016 who was injured in an accident in July 2016, “Not being able to feel your chest and the temperature of water, regaining that feeling is like being reborn. It’s amazing.”</p>


A miraculous cell therapy reversed paralysis!

A new cell therapy successfully restored movement in paralyzed patients

Human anatomy, unique view of spine, vertebrae on light background.Depth of Field.

A new cell therapy study found that of six people paralyzed or without motor function, four recovered two or more motor levels on one side of their body.

A New Cell Therapy Successfully Restored Movement in Paralyzed Patients

Two-thirds of subjects recovered from their spinal cord injuries.

<h2>Shocking Results</h2>
<p>Most of us would likely go out of our way to avoid being electrocuted (<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/09/14/this-biologist-let-an-electric-eel-give-him-a-zap-more-powerful-than-a-taser/?utm_term=.cc5ab3d8809c" target="_blank">brave biologists, excluded</a>). However, based on new research <a href="http://physiologyonline.physiology.org/content/32/5/391" target="_blank">published in <i>Physiology</i></a>, people suffering from paralysis caused by spinal cord injuries (SCI) may soon be seeking out electrical stimulation.<figure style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/heres-what-people-in-1900-thought-the-year-2000-would-look-like/"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2015/12/depictions_home.png" alt="Here&#8217;s What People in 1900 Thought the Year 2000 Would Look Like" ></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text center"><strong><a href="https://futurism.com/images/heres-what-people-in-1900-thought-the-year-2000-would-look-like/" target="_blank">Click to View Full Infographic</a></figcaption></strong></figure></p>
<p>After reviewing more than 90 studies, two researchers from the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/" target="_blank">University of Washington</a> concluded that three kinds of stimulation therapies can be used to effectively restore movement in the limbs of paralyzed patients:</p>
<ul>
<li>Transcutaneous stimulation, which delivers stimulation via electrodes placed on the skin</li>
<li>Epidural spinal stimulation, which delivers stimulation via electrodes that are placed under the skin but on the outside of the spinal cord</li>
<li>Intraspinal stimulation, which delivers stimulation via electrodes implanted directly into the spinal cord</li>
</ul>
<p>Each type of treatment had a unique impact on patients. For example, the first improved muscle tightness and stepping ability, while the second improved hand function. According to the researchers, all three treatments were most likely to be effective when combined with physical therapy and medications that help the spinal cord generate new neural pathways.</p>
<h2>The Path to Recovery</h2>
<p>More than a quarter of a million people in the U.S. alone are <a href="https://www.nscisc.uab.edu/Public/Facts%202016.pdf" target="_blank">affected by paralysis due to SCI</a>, and approximately 17,000 new cases emerge each year.</p>
<p><iframe width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/n7wal51Tgu8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>These injuries can affect far more than a person&#8217;s ability to walk or move their limbs. SCI sufferers can be unable to control their bladder, have problems regulating their temperature, or experience other issues with autonomic functions that severely limit their ability to function in everyday life.</p>
<p>As the study&#8217;s authors note, electrical simulation is not a cure for paralysis. However, it&#8217;s also just one of the many paralysis treatments currently being researched.</p>
<p><a href="https://futurism.com/theres-a-100-million-plan-to-make-a-synthetic-spinal-cord-to-end-paralysis/" target="_blank">Synthetic spinal cords</a>, <a href="https://futurism.com/researchers-provide-the-first-evidence-that-a-new-kind-of-paralysis-treatment-is-effective/" target="_blank">magnetic brain stimulation</a>, <a href="https://futurism.com/a-tiny-new-implant-could-let-you-control-an-exoskeleton-with-your-mind/" target="_blank">mind-controlled exoskeletons</a>, or any other one of these promising endeavors could lead us to a world in which paralysis is a thing of the past.</p>


More than a quarter of a million people in the U.S. alone are affected by paralysis due to SCI.

Electrical stimulation can effectively restore movement in paralyzed limbs

Therapist Placing Electrodes On Woman's Knee

New research published in Physiology shows that people suffering from paralysis via spinal cord injuries may soon be seeking out electrical stimulation.

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