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Study of Paralyzed Man May Offer Hope for New Treatment

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report from http://voaspecialenglish.com | http://facebook.com/voalearningenglishRob Summers of Portland, Oregon, is twenty-five years old and a former college athlete. In July of two thousand six he was hit by a car. A doctor told him he would never walk again, but that is his goal. Mr. Summers learned about experimental research at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. Doctors placed small electrodes in his lower back. These send electrical signals to his damaged spinal cord to move his hips, legs and feet. The signals act like the signals that the brain normally sends to produce movement. He says he was unable to move even a toe for four years. But on the third day of turning the simulator on, he was able to stand independently.With the treatment he could even begin taking steps on a treadmill while supported by a harness. Mr. Summers can stand for up to four minutes at a time, or up to an hour with assistance. He received extensive physical training. His spinal cord had to be retrained to produce the muscle movements needed to stand and take assisted steps on the treadmill. The treatment has also helped him regain some control over his bladder. Researchers are calling his progress a medical breakthrough. The work is described in a study in the Lancetmedical journal. The lead author, Susan Harkema, says there could be a day when Rob Summers and other paraplegics like him will be able to walk again. But there is still a lot more work to do to reach that day. Mr. Summers was completely paralyzed below the chest, but he did still have some feeling. The scientists say they do not know how the treatment would work with patients who have no sensation at all below the injury. Also, the researchers point out that they have studied only one person so far. And Mr. Summers was in extraordinary physical condition before his injury. Money for the research came from the Christopher&Dana Reeve Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Professor Harkema is director of the Reeve Foundation's NeuroRecovery Network.The eleven-member team also included scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles, and the California Institute of Technology. For VOA Special English, I'm Alex Villarreal. You can watch a video about Rob Summers and his treatment at voaspecialenglish.com.(Adapted from a radio program broadcast 01Jun2011)
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