With Electrical Stimulation to the Spinal Cord, Paralyzed Man Walks Again
Rob Summers On the Treadmill University of Louisville via CBS News Electrical impulses sent to a paralyzed man's spinal cord allow him to walk again, researchers say. Rob Summers, 25, can voluntarily move his feet and hips and walk on a treadmill with support, in what could be a major breakthrough for the treatment of paralysis. The research team, led by Dr. Susan Harkema of the University of Louisville, Ky., stressed that the treatment is not a cure for paralysis and that it worked with just one patient in one trial. But researchers not involved in the study say it is promising - one UK doctor told the BBC it was "mind-blowing." 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...