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A spinal cord implant has enabled a person suffering from a debilitating neurodegenerative disease to get up and walk again after being bedridden for more than a year. This new ‘miracle’ of science has been made possible thanks to an innovative system developed by a team of scientists from the NeuroRestore research center led by Jocelyne Bloch, neurosurgeon at Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and professor at the University of Lausanne , and Grégoire Courtine, professor of neuroscience at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale De Lausanne-EPFL (Switzerland).
The innovative system includes an electronic implant located in the spinal cord to reactivate the neurons that regulate blood pressure, thus preventing the patient from
Lose consciousness every time you stand up.
This implant had already been used to treat high blood pressure in tetraplegic patients, but this was the first time it had been applied to this type of neurodegenerative disease, substantially improving the patient’s quality of life.
The study is published in “The New England Journal of Medicine.”
The patient in the study suffers from multiple system atrophy of the parkinsonian type (MSA-P), a neurodegenerative disease that affects various parts of the nervous system, including the sympathetic nervous system.
Thanks to the implant, the patient can walk up to 250 meters after being bedridden for 18 months.
This type of multiple system atrophy causes loss of sympathetic neurons that regulate blood pressure, which tends to drop dramatically as soon as patients are upright, a problem known as orthostatic hypotension, which in some cases causes them to pass out.
This makes them more likely to fall, limits their ability to stand and walk, and can reduce their life expectancy. Patients’ quality of life is greatly reduced as they must remain in a reclined position to avoid passing out.
The implant consists of electrodes connected to an electrical pulse generator that is commonly used to treat chronic pain.
After implanting their device into the patient’s spinal cord, the researchers saw an improvement in the body’s ability to regulate blood pressure, allowing the patient to remain conscious for longer periods in an upright position and begin physical therapy to return to walking. .
According to Jocelyne Bloch, this breakthrough paves the way for important clinical advances in the treatment of degenerative diseases. “We have seen how this type of therapy can be applied to patients with a spinal cord injury. But now, we can explore applications in treating impairments resulting from neurodegeneration. This is the first time we have been able to improve blood pressure regulation in people with this disease.”
Courtine adds that “this technology was initially designed for pain relief, not for this type of application. In the future, we plan to develop a system specifically targeting orthostatic hypotension that can help people around the world struggling with this disorder.”
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