May 20, 2011

expert reaction to Lancet paper about a paraplegic man able to stand without assistance after epidural stimulation and training

American baseball player Rob Summers was left paralysed from the waist down after being hit by a car, but was able to stand and take a few steps without assistance after electrical stimulation to the spinal cord and intensive training.

Prof Geoffrey Raisman, Professor of Neural Regeneration, Institute of Neurology, University College London, said:

“This one case is interesting, and from one of the leading groups in the world. However, it is not repair, but an improvement of function of tissue already surviving. It is already well known that surviving tissue can reassume a degree of lost functions and that this can be greatly increased by rehabilitative physiotherapy. To what extent this procedure could in the future provide a further and sustained improvement cannot be judged on the basis of one patient.

“From the point of view of people currently suffering from spinal cord injury, future trials of this procedure could add one more approach to getting some benefit. It is not and does not claim to be a cure.”

Effect of epidural stimulation of the lumbosacral spinal cord on voluntary movement, standing, and assisted stepping after motor complete paraplegia: a case study by Susan Harkema et al., published in the Lancet on Friday 20 May 2011.