November 9, 2016

expert reaction to study reporting on a device that restores movement to monkeys with paralysed limbs

Scientists publishing in the journal Nature have reported their work to restore movement to the legs of primates following spinal cord injury through a system of wireless control systems which linked relevant areas of the brain and spine.

Prof. Simone Di Giovanni, Chair in Restorative Neuroscience, Imperial College London, said:

“The manuscript from Courtine’s laboratory is an important step forward in our understanding of how we could improve motor recovery in patients affected by spinal cord injury by using brain-spinal interface approaches. The work in two non-human primates is solid, very promising and exciting; however it will have to be tested in clinical settings and ideally in larger numbers of animals. In principle this is reproducible in human patients. The issue will be how much this approach will contribute to functional recovery that impacts on the quality of life. This is still very uncertain.

“The rapid development of neurotechnologies will also likely contribute to continually refine this approach in humans. It must be remembered that anatomical reconnectivity of a lesioned spinal cord remains a high priority that requires still much work in experimental models of spinal cord injury.”

‘A brain–spine interface alleviating gait deficits after spinal cord injury in primates’ by Capogrosso et al. will be published in Nature on Wednesday 9th November. 

Declared interests

Prof. Simone Di Giovanni: No conflicts of interest.