Public release date: 24-May-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Gary Mans gary.mans@louisville.edu 502-852-7504 University of Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. The University of Louisville has received $6.3 million from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to support research in the Department of Neurological Surgery and the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center at UofL developing the next generation of technology to help paralyzed people regain movement in their limbs and enhance their quality of life.

In May 2011, Susan Harkema, Ph.D., professor of neurological surgery, and Jonathan Hodes, M.D., chair of neurological surgery, and their colleagues published a study in "The Lancet" demonstrating that the use of continual direct electrical stimulation of a patient's lower spinal cord using "off the shelf" technology designed for pain relief can allow a person to go from being wheelchair-bound to being able to stand, remain standing and bear weight. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech) collaborated on the study.

Since that time, the team has replicated its findings in at least two more patients, and the Helmsley Charitable Trust grant will help the team develop the technology needed to advance the research. Researchers from UofL, UCLA, Cal Tech and Case Western Reserve are involved in the development of the new technology.

"One of the biggest issues we face is the limitations imposed by the technology," Harkema said. "We need to develop the next generation of electrical stimulator containing the best possible circuitry and a new control system so that patients can have the ability to take advantage of this therapy at home and in their communities. Currently, it is limited to use in the laboratory here in Louisville."

"This most generous grant from the Helmsley Charitable Trust enables our researchers within the Department of Neurological Surgery and the Speed School of Engineering, and their colleagues at prestigious institutions across the country to move forward with the goal of improving the lives of millions of people," said UofL President James R. Ramsey. "This grant recognizes the innovative work taking place at UofL. Through this support and the work of our researchers and their subjects, we will continue to translate science into applications that transform people's lives."

"We're excited that this work has already proven what many thought was impossible: patients with absolutely no motor function can stand and step with assistance," said John Codey, trustee of the Helmsley Trust. "We hope the innovative work conducted by the faculty and staff of the University of Louisville and its partners continues to advance the technology and research base needed to treat more patients, resulting in improved outcomes."

In the paper from May, Harkema and her colleagues demonstrated that continual direct epidural electrical stimulation of the subject's lower spinal cord mimics signals the brain normally transmits to initiate movement. Once that signal is given, the research shows, the spinal cord's own neural network combined with the sensory input derived from the legs to the spinal cord is able to direct the muscle and joint movements required to stand and step with assistance on a treadmill.

The other crucial component of the potential therapy is an extensive regime of intensive physical therapy training called Locomotor Training while the spinal cord is being stimulated and the subject suspended over the treadmill. Assisted by rehabilitation specialists, an individual's spinal cord neural network is retrained to produce the muscle movements necessary to stand and to take assisted steps.

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Helmsley Charitable Trust grants $6.3 million to University of Louisville for neurosurgery

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