Injured rats walk thanks to spinal nerve stimulation

AP Photo/Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne

A previously paralyzed rat in a special harness walks voluntarily after several weeks of rehabilitation in a laboratory in Switzerland. In the new experiment reported in the Friday, June 1, 2012 issue of the journal Science, researchers led by Gregoire Courtine, of the University of Zurich and the technical university EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland, stimulated spinal nerve circuits and used physical training.

A researcher watches a previously paralyzed rat in a special harness walk voluntarily after several weeks of rehabilitation in a laboratory in Switzerland. The rat's spine was stimulated using electrical current from implanted electrodes plus injections of a chemical mix, helping the rodents overcome paralysis to walk and climb stairs.

In this undated photo provided by the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, a previously paralyzed rat in a special harness walks voluntarily after several weeks of rehabilitation in a laboratory in Switzerland.

First a chemical mix was injected into the injured rat's spine.

Then, an electrical current was passed through implanted electrodes. Evidence shows that both these treatments resulted in rewiring of the brain and spinal cord.

The rats were placed in a harness so that only their hind legs reached the ground. Then they were placed on a treadmill, which produced only reflexive stepping, and on stationary ground, where they had to choose to make their legs move if they wanted to reach a piece of chocolate.

They took their first voluntary steps about two to three weeks after the training began, the researchers said. The rats still needed the harness later to keep their balance.