People with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a hereditary neuromuscular disease, usually experience muscle weakness, which affects movement.
New research suggests electricity Spinal cord stimulation It can improve muscle function in these patients and even restore the ability to walk.
A study at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine showed that spinal cord stimulation sessions restore motor neuron activity and improve leg muscles strength in SMA patients.
The survey results were published in Natural Medicine on February 5th.
Spinal cord therapy restores the function of paralyzed patients in research: “New Hope”
“All patients suffered from a rare condition that destroyed neurons in the spinal cord (like polio) due to hereditary disorders at birth,” said Brain Nerve at WVU Rockefeller Institute of Neuroscience in West Virginia. said Dr. Peter Conrad, chairman of the Department of Surgery. Fox News Digital. (Konrad was not involved in the research.)
Research participant Doug McCullough used an adaptive exercise bike during a test session at the University of Pittsburgh. (Nate Langer, UPMC, University of Pittsburgh University of Health Sciences)
“The disease weakens the legs, takes the form of walking ability… slow paralysis. It was thought that stimulation of input to the remaining neurons would improve. Strength and stamina In patients treated in this way. ”
Co-authors of Marco Capogrosso, an assistant professor of neurosurgery at Pitt School of Medicine, said two things needed to occur to combat neurodegeneration.
“There has been no major breakthrough in treating this disease, so treatment remains focused on improving quality of life.”
“This study proposed an approach to treating the root causes of neural dysfunction, complementing existing neuroprotective treatments with a new approach to reverse neuronal dysfunction,” Capogrosso said in a press release.
Three SMA members participated in the study. For a month they received it Spinal cord stimulation Five times a week, each for 4 hours. At the end of the trial period, they all experienced “improvement of motor nuclear function, reduced fatigue, improved strength and walking for all participants.”
Study participant Doug McCullough walks during a test session at the University of Pittsburgh using a weight support system. (Nate Langer, UPMC, University of Pittsburgh University of Health Sciences)
“Three patients showed an average improvement in step length by 40%, an increase in intensity by up to 180%, and an improvement in walking time of 26 minutes,” Konrad said, based on a review of the study. Masu.
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“This is a big deal for patients with this condition, relying on support devices to move around with a small stamina.”
One of the participants, Doug McCullough, had experienced advanced symptoms and had difficulty walking.
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“My hip flexors are very weak so I basically have this waddling walk where my hips sway back and forth. “From the video, my walk has been improved and it’s clear that I was walking faster. We could see it. There was a little more natural walking. It wasn’t completely normal yet, but it was better than before the study.”
Researchers Genis Pratt Ortega (left) and Serena Donadio (right) along with research participants Doug McCullough (centre) during a test session at the University of Pittsburgh. (Nate Langer, UPMC, University of Pittsburgh University of Health Sciences)
SMA is a progressive disease that worsens over time, but according to Elvira Pirondini, president of Pitt School of Medicine, a research co-author of the study, Elvira Pirondini, the study co-author, Elvira Pirondini, the study’s patients have significantly improved. There was.
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“Over the four weeks of treatment, our study participants improved in several Clinical resultsimproving activities in daily life,” she said in the release.
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“For example, towards the end of the study, we reported that one patient could walk from home to the lab without losing fatigue.”
This research is a “proof of concept” that gives hope to this type of person Genetic disordersaccording to Konrad.
“Towards the end of the study, we reported that one patient could walk from home to the lab without losing fatigue.”
“There has been no major breakthrough in treating this disease, so treatment remains focused on improving quality of life,” he told Fox News Digital.
“It also shows that devices such as spinal cord stimulation and other types of neuromodulation are safe and effective ways to treat paralysis when they rarely provide them in the form of medication or gene therapy. ”
Graduate student Scott Ensel (left) will assist research participant Doug McCullough during a test session at the University of Pittsburgh. (Nate Langer, UPMC, University of Pittsburgh University of Health Sciences)
The team plans to continue researching with other SMA patients in the future. New clinical trials Test the safety and efficacy of treatments.
In the future, they hope to apply this treatment to other neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and Huntington’s disease.
