Implant Allows 3 People With Severed Spinal Cords to Walk Again

New medical technology developed by Swiss researchers has allowed three paralyzed people to walk again.

The research published Monday in the Nature Medicine journal said in the ongoing clinical trial testing electrical spinal implants, three individuals who had "complete sensorimotor paralysis" saw improvements in just one day and eventually were able to "stand, walk, cycle, swim and control trunk movements."

Italian man Michel Roccati's spine was severed in a motorcycle accident five years ago, leaving him with no feeling in his legs, he told the BBC. Someone at this level of injury has never been able to walk before, but Roccati was able to after getting the electrical implant at the base of his spine.

According to STAT News, all the participants were between the ages of 29 and 41 and were a few years out from their spinal injuries, leaving them with no movement or sensation in their legs. All three also had "at least 6 centimeters of healthy spinal cord below their injury," the report said.

When a person's spine is damaged, the nerves that carry messages from the brain to the legs can't create a strong enough signal for the legs to move. According to the BBC, the implant boosts this signal so the person can move again.

Grégoire Courtine, co-senior author of the research paper and a neuroscientist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, told STAT that the implant "really reactivates the spinal cord." It does this by stimulating nerves that went dormant from disuse after the injury, essentially bringing them back to life, according to Scientific American.

Courtine toldScientific American that while patients immediately responded to the technology, they required body weight support in the first few days, then were able to walk with a support aid.

After a few months of training, he said they could do a range of other activities like canoeing and standing up to have a drink at a bar.

Roccati told STAT that he can stand for almost two hours on his own and can feel his feet making contact with the ground as well as his leg muscles contracting. He also told the BBC he can now walk where he wants to, including up and down stairs, saying "it's almost a normal life."

Courtine added that the technology improved the patients long term only while it was switched on, meaning those with complete paralysis will require a permanent implant.

Though researchers said the technology is too complicated for everyday use and thus is not a cure for spinal injury, it is a step in the right direction, according to the BBC.

Update 2/7/22, 4:05 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.