A new discovery could help in the development of targeted treatments for people with spinal cord injuries. A group of researchers identified a group of neurons involved in recovery from paralysis in mice, shedding light on the mechanism behind spinal cord rehabilitation in response to electrical stimulation.
The new studio, Published on Naturealso recruited nine individuals with severe or complete paralysis, who after treatment regained or improved their ability to walk. It has long been known that electrical stimulation of the spinal cord following an injury can somewhat restore a patient’s movement. However, the reasons for this recovery remained a mystery. Until this moment.
The scope of the new discovery
In a series of studies on mice, the researchers from the research center NeuroRestore identified specific neurons activated by spinal cord stimulation, which can allow patients to stand and walk again. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the therapy, named epidural electrical stimulation (EES), the team enrolled nine people with chronic spinal cord injuries: ‘All individuals immediately regained some ability to walk with robotic support during stimulation and most showed a noticeable increase in the ability to bear the weight and continuous improvement of walking after five months of EES treatment and rehabilitation, “write Kee Wui Huang and Eiman Azim inan article accompanying the study.
Furthermore, it was found that this improvement in motor function persists after cessation of treatmenteven when electrical stimulation has been turned off.
To learn more about the underlying mechanism, the team then focused on mice: first analyzing a rodent undergoing EES neurorehabilitation while simultaneously mapping gene expression in mouse spinal cord neurons.
By combining the results of both of these experiments, they identified a family of neurons that plays an important role: V2a neurons. The latter express the Vsx2 gene and are not involved in walking prior to spinal cord injury, but, as the researchers show, they are essential in recovering movement after injury. “Silencing these neurons (in mice) impaired EES-mediated recovery of gait after spinal cord injury, while their activation, even in the absence of EES treatment, produced improvements in gait,” Huang and Azim write. . “These results support the thesis that EES activates V2a neurons to guide a reorganization of spinal circuits and promote the restoration of motor function “.
However, as the authors point out, there are many other neurons that are activated by electrical stimulation and should be studied to improve our understanding of spinal cord reorganization in response to EES.
In any case “This result paves the way for more targeted treatments for paralyzed patientsSaid study author Jordan Squair in a statement reported by the magazine IFLscience. “Now we can aim to manipulate these neurons to regenerate the spinal cord.” A new, very important step in the right direction.
Other stories of Vanity Fair that may interest you:
Manuel Bortuzzo: “The spinal cord injury is not complete”
Justin Bieber and the “improving” paralysis
Source: Vanity Fair
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