DOI: 10.1097/01.NT.0000417966.47278.74
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Issn Print: 1533-7006
Publication Date: 2012/07/19
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Excerpt
Rats who sustained paralyzing lesions at critical sites on the spinal cord were able to walk, avoid obstacles, and even climb stairs after undergoing a combination of interventions, including a robotic postural interface, a gait training program, and a systemically administered, tailored “electrochemical neuroprosthesis”— a cocktail of serotonin receptor agonists and dopamine receptor agonists designed to increase the general level of spinal excitability, paired with epidural electrical stimulation.
This finding, published by Swiss researchers in the June 1 edition of Science, is the first to combine a pharmacological intervention with other modalities, such as gait training and postural support, to restore movement after spinal cord injury.
“This is the kind of protocol that will probably be used in humans in the future,” said Jonathan Wolpaw, MD, chief of the Laboratory of Neural Injury and Repair at New York State's Wadsworth Center, who called the findings quite significant.
“It's put together a number of methods that have been developed individually over the years for inducing plasticity in the nervous system, and it's gotten quite impressive results. It's clear that there will be no single magic method to restore function after spinal cord injury; the treatments we use will be combinations of various interventions, such as this.” Dr. Wolpaw was not involved with the study.
