Researchers from Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic and University of California, Los Angeles teamed up to mirror the outcomes from a study involving four paraplegic patients implanted with stimulators at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, according to StarTribune.
With the implants, the Louisville patients could flex their ankles, knees and hips. Some of the patients experienced improved blood pressure, body temperature regulation, sexual function and bladder control, as well.
Here are five things to know about the Mayo study.
1. The Mayo researchers published their initial results in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, demonstrating a patient achieved significant movement with epidural stimulation.
2. The patient suffered a spinal cord injury at his sixth thoracic vertebra. He did physical therapy for 22 weeks before surgery, and researchers labeled his injury as "discomplete," with existing dormant connections.
3. He underwent surgery to receive a stimulator on his spine and started physical therapy again after a three-week recovery period.
4. With the stimulator, the patient experienced some leg movement during his first therapy session and stood during his second session. At his fifth session, the patient made step movements while on his side. By his eighth session, the patient made step movements while upright in a harness. In previous studies, these tasks took patients weeks or even months to accomplish.
5. Kendall Lee, MD, PhD, a neurosurgeon and director of Mayo Clinic's Neural Engineering Laboratory, served as principal investigator of the study.