Spinal Implant Allows Parkinson’s Patient to Walk Again
A groundbreaking spinal implant has given hope to patients suffering from advanced Parkinson’s disease. The first patient to receive the implant described experiencing “a rebirth” after the treatment allowed him to walk again without falling over.
Marc, a 63-year-old man from Bordeaux, France, was diagnosed with the degenerative disease over two decades ago. He had developed severe mobility problems, including balance impairments and freezing of gait. However, after receiving the spinal implant, which aims to restore normal signaling to the leg muscles, Marc has been able to walk more normally and regain his independence.
“I practically could not walk any more without falling frequently, several times a day. In some situations, such as entering a lift, I’d trample on the spot, as though I was frozen there, you might say,” Marc said. “Right now, I’m not even afraid of the stairs any more. Every Sunday I go to the lake, and I walk around 6 kilometers [3.7 miles]. It’s incredible.”
The implant, developed by a Swiss team with expertise in brain-machine interfaces, is yet to be tested in a full clinical trial. However, the researchers are hopeful that their technology could offer a new approach to treating movement deficits in those with Parkinson’s disease.
By electrically stimulating the spinal cord in a targeted manner, the team corrected walking disorders caused by Parkinson’s disease, said Jocelyne Bloch, a neurosurgeon and professor at the CHUV Lausanne University Hospital, who co-led the work.
Conventional treatments for Parkinson’s disease can improve symptoms but are unable to completely restore normal movement. The spinal implant aims to overcome this limitation by directly targeting the spinal area responsible for activating leg muscles during walking.
To develop the implant, the team created a personalized anatomical map of Marc’s spinal cord, identifying the precise locations involved in signaling leg movement. Electrodes were then implanted at these locations, allowing stimulation to be delivered directly into the spine.
The patient wears a movement sensor on each leg, and when walking is initiated, the implant automatically switches on and begins delivering pulses of stimulation to the spinal cord. This aims to correct abnormal signals sent from the brain, down the spine, to the legs in order to restore normal movement.
The study, published in Nature Medicine, found that the implant improved walking and balance deficits. When Marc’s walking was analyzed, it closely resembled that of healthy individuals rather than other Parkinson’s patients. Marc also reported significant improvements in his quality of life.
The authors of the study stated that a full clinical trial is needed to demonstrate clinical efficacy. They have already enrolled six more patients to assess whether the apparent benefits of the implant are replicated. “At this stage, it’s a proof of concept,” said Prof Grégoire Courtine, a neuroscientist at EPFL, who co-led the work. “Of course, it’s not tomorrow. It will be at least five years of development and testing.”
Experts in the field are excited about this new approach. Prof Karunesh Ganguly, a neurologist at the University of California San Francisco, who was not involved in the study, said, “This study describes a new approach for modulating the spinal cord in order to improve gait in Parkinson’s disease [and the] treatment can also potentially address freezing of gait, which is currently hard to treat. It will be exciting to see how this generalizes to a larger population of patients.”