Tested on two patients who suffered a stroke, a new approach stimulating the spinal cord improves the mobility of the arms and hands.
- 30% of people who have a stroke die before the end of the first month.
- Thanks to electrodes placed on the surface of the spinal cord, two victims were able to move their arm and their hand, even without stimulation.
- “Motor impairments” are “particularly trying” and prevent them from doing “simple daily activities, such as writing, eating and dressing”.
Each year, 140,000 strokes are recorded in France. According health insurance, 30% of victims die before the end of the first month. This sudden loss of one or more brain functions can “disrupt the commands of the motor cortical areas” and thus cause paralysis of the upper limbs, more precisely of the arms and hands. For now, there is no treatment to remedy this problem. This is why researchers at the University of Pittsburgh (United States) have tried to find a new approach to restore mobility to patients.
Neurostimulation: electrodes placed on the surface of the spinal cord
“Under the lesion, the spinal circuits that control movement remain intact,” wrote the scientists in a study published in the journal NatureMedicine. As part of this work, they have thus attempted to target these circuits in order to restore movement. For this, the authors used neurostimulation. Spinal cord stimulation uses a set of electrodes placed on the surface of the spinal cord to deliver pulses of electricity that activate nerve cells inside this long, fragile, tubular structure. This technology is already used to treat persistent high-grade pain.
Activating Intact Neural Circuits Through Eclectic Stimulation
After years of extensive cohorts, the team was allowed to test this therapy in two women who had suffered a stroke. One of them is called Heather Rendulic. His arm is paralyzed from a stroke that occurred nine years ago. For the purposes of the research, the researchers implanted metal electrodes resembling spaghetti along the participants’ necks for 29 days. These activate intact neural circuits, allowing patients to fully open and close their fist, raise their arm above their head, or use a fork and knife to cut a piece of steak.
Stroke: the 2 patients were able to use their arm and their hand again
“We found that electrical stimulation of specific regions of the spinal cord improved the strength, range of motion, and function of the arm and hand, allowing volunteers to perform movements they could not. without spinal cord stimulation. Both participants retained some of these improvements even without stimulation and no serious adverse effects were reported.” the authors said.
Although the results are encouraging, the team believes that it is not possible to conclusively assess the safety and effectiveness of this approach from a two-person test. However, “Our data provide promising preliminary evidence that spinal cord stimulation could be used as both an assistive and restorative method for upper extremity recovery after stroke.”
“Mild deficits resulting from a stroke can isolate adults and become very demoralizing”
In a statementthe scientists say they are continuing to recruit more participants to understand which stroke patients may benefit the most from this therapy and how to optimize stimulation protocols for different levels of severity.
“There is an increasing urgency to create effective neurorehabilitation solutions for people with movement disorders after stroke. Even mild deficits resulting from stroke can isolate adults from their social and professional lives and become very demoralizing , with the motor impairments of the arm and hand being particularly taxing and hampering simple daily activities, such as writing, eating and dressing”, concluded Elvira Pirondini, co-author of the work.
