Nerve Stimulation Gives Paralyzed People Ability to Walk

Precisely timed electrical stimulation and intensive rehabilitation restore some capacity to walk among three men more than four years after their debilitating injuries.

Written byAbby Olena, PhD

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ABOVE: Study participant David Mzee, who is 28 years old and was paralyzed in a sports accident in 2010, takes steps assisted by patterned epidural electrical stimulation and a body weight harness.
JEAN-BAPTISTE MIGNARDOT

Electrically stimulating the neurons in the spinal cord in a pattern that recapitulates the brain’s control of walking has helped three men with spinal cord injuries take steps after years of being wheelchair-bound, according to a study published today (October 31) in Nature.

In September, two other research teams detailed their use of continuous epidural electrical stimulation and physical therapy to help three patients walk years after paralysis in the New England Journal of Medicine and Nature Medicine. Taken together, the three studies reveal the previously untested capacity of the human spinal cord to recover from trauma.

“One misunderstanding about spinal cord injury is that . . . the whole spinal cord is devastated. Really, it’s just ...

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Meet the Author

Abby Olena, PhD
As a freelancer for The Scientist, Abby reports on new developments in life science for the website. She has a PhD from Vanderbilt University and got her start in science journalism as the Chicago Tribune’s AAAS Mass Media Fellow in 2013. Following a stint as an intern for The Scientist, Abby was a postdoc in science communication at Duke University, where she developed and taught courses to help scientists share their research. In addition to her work as a science journalist, she leads science writing and communication workshops and co-produces a conversational podcast. She is based in Alabama.
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