Spinal Cord Stimulation Restores Post-Stroke Arm, Hand Function

For the first time, researchers have used electrical stimulation of the cervical spinal cord to immediately restore arm and hand movement in two patients with chronic moderate-to-severe upper limb paresis.

Stroke can disrupt communication between the brain and the spinal cord, leading to motor deficits in the arm and hand. However, below the lesion, the spinal circuits that control movement remain intact and could be targeted to restore function, Capogrosso noted.

Spinal cord stimulation has shown promise in promoting long-lasting recovery of leg motor function in patients with spinal cord injury; but until now, it's been largely unexplored for upper-limb recovery.

In this "first-in-human" study, the investigators percutaneously implanted two linear leads in the dorsolateral epidural space targeting neural circuits that control arm and hand muscles in two patients.

The results provide "promising, albeit preliminary, evidence that spinal cord stimulation could be an assistive as well as a restorative approach for upper-limb recovery after stroke," first author Marc P. Powell, PhD, Reach Neuro Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and colleagues wrote.

Source: MEDspace