Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter


17

Paralyzed Rats Run in Breakthrough Experiment

Application for humans with spinal injuries not far off

Share

(Newser) – Scientists have made paralyzed rats run again by using a new technique that could one day have wheelchair-bound people walking, reports AFP. Rats, whose spinal cords had been severed, ran when scientists applied electrical charges and drugs. "In some cases they actually walked with more consistent locomotive patterns than non-injured animals," said one researcher.

With electrical charges sent directly to the animal's spines, the rats were able to run both forward and backward on a treadmill, even though no signal was coming from the brain to the spine—implying "the spinal network is almost capable of cognitive processing," said a researcher. It's the first time science has been able to restore nearly normal motor function to a paralyzed animal. Human tests are about four years away.

A lab rat.
A lab rat.   (Getty Images)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

We can optimize the use of the circuitry in the spinal cord to the point where the animals can sustain full weight-bearing locomotion. - University of Zurich researcher Prof. Gregoire Courtine

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
OFF THE GRID
11.20.09
The Health-Care Wars Have Just Begun
11.19.09
Sarah Palin Deserves Some More Attention
17 comments
VIEWING:
 
rosy_s
Sep 21, 09 1:38 AM CDT
wow! amazing! Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+5
freethemall
Sep 21, 09 1:41 AM CDT
Again we hear of a "Breakthrough Experiment" on animals, but with "Human tests are about four years away." But it seems these things never pan out, and we never hear why. Why? Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+2
IN RESPONSE:
freethemall
Sep 21, 09 1:51 AM CDT
Should have said "seldom pan out", not "never pan out".
Vote up! Vote down!
+3
IN RESPONSE:
awase61
Sep 21, 09 7:12 AM CDT
Generally they fail because they either provide diminished returns in human testing or the side effects which were not discussed here were too great and could not easily be overcome to ethically allow human testing.
Vote up! Vote down!
+3
IN RESPONSE:
Serenity
Sep 21, 09 9:53 AM CDT
There was a woman who suffered a severe spinal injury that learned to walk again. Doctors taught her muscles how to walk and she has an ambling gate, but its walking.
Vote up! Vote down!
+2

View all 17 comments »

LEAVE A
COMMENT Comment Policy
Facebook ConnectPost this comment to Facebook?

After connecting you will have the option to post your comment on your Facebook profile.

 

Related Newser Stories

4 Stories

Blue Food Dye May Help Treat Spinal Injury

M&M coloring, if taken in time, could reduce paralysis, study finds

Jul 28, 09 11:16 AM CDT
(Newser) - A dye used to color blue M&Ms and Gatorade may have a higher calling: Scientists say it could help treat spinal-cord injury, ScienceBlog reports. After a spinal injury, a chemical called ATP, usually key to cells’ health, rushes to the site and kills cells, worsening paralysis. With more research,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
injury • ATP • Gatorade • paralysis • spinal cord • M&Ms • color • dye

Robotic Suit Helps Paralyzed Take Big Steps

Motorized exoskeleton enables walking, bending, climbing

Jan 12, 09 8:14 PM CST
(Newser) - People paralyzed from the waist down may soon be parking their wheelchairs in favor of a robotic walking suit, CNN reports. Designed by Dr. Amit Goffer, a disabled engineer in Israel, the lightweight exoskeleton of motorized leg supports and motion sensors enables users to walk around. "I don't have... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Israel • inventions • robotics • paralyze • paralysis • walking • advanced technology

'Rewired' Nerves Restore Ability to Walk

Promising research on mice raises hopes for human breakthrough

Jan 7, 08 1:40 PM CST
(Newser) - Scientists have figured out how mice that lose the ability to walk after a spinal-cord injury can regain it, a finding that could someday help human patients, Scientific American reports. When the long nerves that run from the brain to the base of the spine were severed, shorter nerves in... More »

MORE ABOUT:
medical breakthrough • science • spine • paralyze • nerves • paralysis • spinal cord • nerve damage

4 Stories


Science & Health 
TwitterFollow @NewserScience on Twitter

 
rats • experiments • spine • paralyze • paralysis • spinal cord • wheelchair • treadmill

from our news partners