Time: 2024-07-06
A paralyzed Superman rose from a wheelchair and walked , during a 2000 Super Bowl commercial . The advertisement drew criticism , because , to some , it promised false hope . The ads star , Christopher Reeve , famous for playing the caped superhero in a series of movies , was rendered quadriplegic in a 1995 horse - riding accident . The actor turned activist pushed for more research funding in general , and an end to a ban on embryonic stem cell research in particular . Reeve , who died in 2004 , would likely be pleased with researchs path to paralysis treatment . Activity has intensified over the past decade or so , with some recent notable milestones . Multiple approaches now hold promise including implants , stem cells , and molecular therapies.
The concept of using devices connected to the brain to restore function through an electric signal goes back to 1780 , when Italian scientist Luigi Galvani linked a frogs brain to a leg muscle with an electrical wire . Efforts to restore a break in the nervous systems neurological wiring with actual , physical wires have since become less crude and more specific . In 2018 , a so - called pacemaker for the brain was implanted in a patient . This device differentiated itself from its predecessors by sending more targeted stimulations to more specific muscles . The devices continue to get smaller and more specific , with the latest wrinkle involving adding machine learning to the mix.
In 2023 , a Swiss group led by neuroscientist Gregoire Courtine , implanted what he calls a digital bridge essentially a set of electrodes between brain and body to help a paralyzed Swiss man regain some mobility . Just a few months ago , Elon Musks Neuralink announced it had implanted a chip that restored some of a patients vision and mobility . Philip Troyk , a biomedical engineering professor at the Illinois Institute of technology , says that although these approaches are promising , they are still crude compared to the brains sophistication . The devices continue to get smaller and more specific , with the latest wrinkle involving adding machine learning to the mix.
The Holy Grail of regenerative medicine is regrowing cells that are missing or have been damaged . Bydons group derived stem cells from bone marrow and body fat for an experimental treatment in 10 patients with paralysis . In April 2024 , the group reported mixed but promising success . Bydons group is now undergoing a larger study that will include up to 40 patients . Bydon intends to refine their approach and understand how to maximize its efficacy . One group is trying to use molecular therapy to try to do just that . A group led by Samuel Stupp , a Northwestern University professor , has developed a molecular approach that has shown promising signs in animals .
A combination of surgery , stem cells and neural stimulation might be necessary to achieve improvements in outcomes , says Bydon . While experimental approaches focus on one kind of repair , usually to one specific part of the body , clinical solutions might draw upon several . Troyk adds that , although the experimental approaches have shown promise , we are a long way from an overall cure for paralysis . Despite the brains complexity , many scientists have essentially treated it as a primitive digital computer , but it is crucial to have a realistic view of the progress being made.
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