Non-invasive zaps to the spinal cord can treat paralysis—but no one knows why - eviltoast
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    6 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    With a zap of electricity from well-placed electrodes on the back of the neck, patients with tetraplegia can regain some modest yet potentially “life-changing” functioning of their hands and arms, according to data from a small clinical trial published Monday in Nature Medicine.

    The relatively simple stimulation method—which requires no surgery—offers an accessible and more affordable non-invasive means for those living with paralysis to regain some meaningful function, the researchers behind the trial say.

    For the trial, 60 patients with tetraplegia underwent the stimulation therapy over at least 24 sessions during a two-month period.

    “The most exciting thing for us is that we’re seeing effects that improve quality of life,” Chet Moritz, a co-author of the study and co-director for the Center for Neurotechnology at the University of Washington, said in a press briefing.

    Also, there were ethical concerns about having people with tetraplegia repeatedly travel to clinical sites and be subjected to potentially uncomfortable treatments with no expected benefit.

    The differences were “very dramatic for many of the measures,” Edelle Field-Fote, a co-author and director of Spinal Cord Injury Research at Shepherd Center in Georgia, said in the briefing.


    The original article contains 431 words, the summary contains 190 words. Saved 56%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!