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June 02, 2012
Fantastic: Paralyzed Rats Regain Full Motion & Nerve Control After Treatment
Rats are different than people, but they aren't that different.
Dramatic video of paralysed rats walking and even climbing stairs has given new hope of a cure for people with spinal cord injuries.
Swiss scientists were able to stimulate nerves to grow around damage in the spinal cord, restoring movement in the animals' hind legs.
"Our rats have become athletes when just weeks before they were completely paralysed," Dr Gregoire Courtine of the EPFL research group in Lausanne said.
"I am talking about 100% recuperation of voluntary movement."
The scientists injected chemicals directly into the spinal cord, and stimulated the nerves with electrical impulses.
...
The research is published in the journal Science and the scientists hope to start clinical trials in paralysed patients "within a year or two"...