A joint research study between Mayo Clinic and UCLA has yielded results, showing that the networks of neurons below a spinal cord injury still can function after paralysis. On the Mayo Clinic Radio podcast, co-principal investigators, Dr. Kendall Lee, neurosurgeon and director of Mayo Clinic's Neural Engineering Laboratories, and Dr. Kristin Zhao, director of Mayo Clinic’s Assistive and Restorative Technology Laboratory, explain the spinal cord stimulation research from the neurosurgery and rehabilitation perspectives. Megan Gill, a Mayo Clinic physical therapist, also joins the discussion. Also on the program, Kimberly Van Rooy, director of volunteers at Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minnesota, highlights all the jobs done by Mayo Clinic volunteers.

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On the next Mayo Clinic Radio program, co-principal investigators, Dr. Kendall Lee, neurosurgeon and director of Mayo Clinic's Neural Engineering Laboratories, and Dr. Kristin Zhao, director of Mayo Clinic’s Assistive and Restorative Technology Laboratory, will explain the spinal cord stimulation research from the neurosurgery and rehabilitation perspectives. Megan Gill, a Mayo Clinic physical therapist, also will join the discussion. Also on the program, Kimberly Van Rooy, director of volunteers at Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minnesota, will highlight all the jobs done by Mayo Clinic volunteers.

Here's your Mayo Clinic Radio podcast.

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On the next Mayo Clinic Radio program, co-principal investigators, Dr. Kendall Lee, neurosurgeon and director of Mayo Clinic's Neural Engineering Laboratories, and Dr. Kristin Zhao, director of Mayo Clinic’s Assistive and Restorative Technology Laboratory, will explain the spinal cord stimulation research from the neurosurgery and rehabilitation perspectives. Megan Gill, a Mayo Clinic physical therapist, also will join the discussion. Also on the program, Kimberly Van Rooy, director of volunteers at Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minnesota, will highlight all the jobs done by Mayo Clinic volunteers.

To hear the program, find an affiliate in your area.

Use the hashtag #MayoClinicRadio, and tweet your questions.

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Access archived shows or subscribe to the podcast.

Mayo Clinic Radio produces a weekly one-hour radio program highlighting health and medical information from Mayo Clinic.

The post Mayo Clinic Radio: Spinal cord stimulation research yields results appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

On the next Mayo Clinic Radio program, co-principal investigators, Dr. Kendall Lee, neurosurgeon and director of Mayo Clinic's Neural Engineering Laboratories, and Dr. Kristin Zhao, director of Mayo Clinic’s Assistive and Restorative Technology Laboratory, will explain the spinal cord stimulation research from the neurosurgery and rehabilitation perspectives. Megan Gill, a Mayo Clinic physical therapist, also will join the discussion. Also on the program, Kimberly Van Rooy, director of volunteers at Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minnesota, will highlight all the jobs done by Mayo Clinic volunteers.

To hear the program, find an affiliate in your area.

Miss the show?  Here's your Mayo Clinic Radio podcast.

Use the hashtag #MayoClinicRadio, and tweet your questions.

Mayo Clinic Radio is on iHeartRadio.

Access archived shows or subscribe to the podcast.

Mayo Clinic Radio produces a weekly one-hour radio program highlighting health and medical information from Mayo Clinic.

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ROCHESTER, Minn. — Spinal cord stimulation and physical therapy have helped a man paralyzed since 2013 regain his ability to stand and walk with assistance. The results, achieved in a research collaboration between Mayo Clinic and UCLA, are reported in Nature Medicine.

With an implanted stimulator turned on, the man, Jered Chinnock, was able to step with a front-wheeled walker while trainers provided occasional assistance. He made 113 rehabilitation visits to Mayo Clinic over a year, and achieved milestones during individual sessions:

• Total distance: 111 yards (102 meters) — about the length of a football field
• Total number of steps: 331
• Total minutes walking with assistance:16 minutes
• Step speed: 13 yards per minute (0.20 meters per second)

“What this is teaching us is that those networks of neurons below a spinal cord injury still can function after paralysis,” says Kendall Lee, M.D., Ph.D., co-principal investigator, neurosurgeon and director of Mayo Clinic's Neural Engineering Laboratories.
https://youtu.be/MQ6ggOdQz2k
Watch: Spinal cord stimulation, physical therapy help paralyzed man stand, walk with assistance

Journalists: Broadcast-quality video (2:59) and video animation are in the downloads at the end of this post. Please ‘Courtesy Mayo Clinic News Network.’ Read the script.

In the study, Chinnock’s spinal cord was stimulated by an implanted electrode, enabling neurons to receive the signal that he wanted to stand or step.

“Now I think the real challenge starts, and that’s understanding how this happened, why it happened, and which patients will respond, says Kristin Zhao, Ph.D., co-principal investigator and director of Mayo Clinic’s Assistive and Restorative Technology Laboratory.

Currently, as a safety precaution, Chinnock takes steps only under the supervision of the research team.

Early findings

Chinnock, now 29, injured his spinal cord at the thoracic vertebrae in the middle of his back in a snowmobile accident in 2013. He was diagnosed with a complete loss of function below the spinal cord injury, meaning he could not move or feel anything below the middle of his torso.

In the study, which began in 2016, Chinnock participated in 22 weeks of physical therapy and then had an electrode surgically implanted by Dr. Lee and his Mayo Clinic neurosurgery team.

The implant sits in the epidural space  — the outermost part of the spinal canal — at a specific location below the injured area. The electrode connects to a pulse generator device under the skin of Chinnock’s abdomen and communicates wirelessly with an external controller. Mayo Clinic received permission from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to use the device for a condition not covered by its FDA-approved label.

Continued progress

The research team then tried to determine if Chinnock could stand and walk with assistance. During 113 rehabilitation sessions, the researchers adjusted stimulation settings, trainer assistance, harness support and speed of the treadmill to allow him maximum independence.

The research demonstrated that Chinnock was able to walk over ground using a front-wheeled walker and step on a treadmill placing his arms on support bars to help with balance. However, when stimulation was off, Chinnock remained paralyzed.

In the first week, Chinnock used a harness to lower his risk of falling and to provide upper body balance. Trainers were positioned at his knees and hips to help him stand, swing his legs and shift his weight. Because Chinnock did not regain sensation, he initially used mirrors to view his legs, and trainers described leg position, movement and balance. By week 25, he did not need a harness, and trainers offered only occasional help. By the end of the study period, he learned to use his entire body to transfer weight, maintain balance and propel forward, requiring minimal verbal cues and periodic glances at his legs.

Co-first authors are Megan Gill, physical therapist, and Peter Grahn, Ph.D., senior engineer. The Mayo researchers worked closely with the team of V. Reggie Edgerton, Ph.D., at UCLA on this study. Additional co-authors are Jonathan Calvert, Margaux Linde, Igor Lavrov, M.D., Ph.D, Jeffrey Strommen, M.D., Lisa Beck, Meegan Van Straaten, Dina Drubach, Daniel Veith, Andrew Thoreson and Cesar Lopez of Mayo Clinic; Dimitry Sayenko, M.D., Ph.D., Houston Methodist Research Institute; and Yury Gerasimenko, Ph.D., UCLA.

This research was funded by The Grainger Foundation, Regenerative Medicine Minnesota, Jack Jablonski BEL13VE in Miracles Foundation, Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine, Mayo Clinic Rehabilitation Medicine Research Center, Mayo Clinic Transform the Practice, Minnesota Office of Higher Education Spinal Cord Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury Research Grant Program, Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, Dana and Albert R. Broccoli Charitable Foundation, Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation and Walkabout Foundation.

Authors Lee, Edgerton and Gerasimenko note conflict of interest disclosures.

Additional resources:

• Jered Chinnock standing with assistance
• Jered Chinnock walking with assistance
• Spinal implant

###

About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to clinical practice, education and research, providing expert, comprehensive care to everyone who needs healing. Learn more about Mayo Clinic. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network.

Media contacts:

• Susan Barber Lindquist and Rhoda Madson, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs, 507-284-5005, newsbureau@mayo.edu

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On the Mayo Clinic Radio podcast, Dr. Kristin Zhao, director of Mayo Clinic's Assistive and Restorative Technology Laboratory, and Dr. Kendall Lee, director of Mayo Clinic's Neural Engineering Laboratory, discuss a study being done at Mayo Clinic, in collaboration with UCLA researchers, that has successfully used intense physical therapy and electrical stimulation of the spinal cord to return voluntary movements to a previously paralyzed patient.

Also on the program, primary care physician Dr. Elizabeth Cozine discusses how to deal with seasonal allergies. And infectious disease specialist Dr. Pritish Tosh has an update on the effectiveness of this past season's flu vaccine.

The post #MayoClinicRadio Podcast: 5/6/17 appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

On the next Mayo Clinic Radio program, the study's principal investigators, Dr. Kristin Zhao, director of Mayo Clinic's Assistive and Restorative Technology Laboratory, and Dr. Kendall Lee, director of Mayo Clinic's Neural Engineering Laboratory, will discuss the results and what's ahead in spinal cord injury research.

Also on the program, Dr. Elizabeth Cozine, a Mayo Clinic Health System primary care physician, will discuss how to deal with seasonal allergies. And infectious disease specialist Dr. Pritish Tosh will have an update on the effectiveness of this past season's flu vaccine.

Here's your Mayo Clinic Radio podcast.

The post Spinal cord injury research: Mayo Clinic Radio appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

A spinal cord injury can cause permanent changes in strength, sensation and other body functions below the site of the injury, including paralysis. But a study being done at Mayo Clinic, in collaboration with UCLA researchers, has successfully used intense physical therapy and electrical stimulation of the spinal cord to return voluntary movements to a previously paralyzed patient. The research findings recently were published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

On the next Mayo Clinic Radio program, the study's principal investigators, Dr. Kristin Zhao, director of Mayo Clinic's Assistive and Restorative Technology Laboratory, and Dr. Kendall Lee, director of Mayo Clinic's Neural Engineering Laboratory, will discuss the results and what's ahead in spinal cord injury research.

Also on the program, Dr. Elizabeth Cozine, a Mayo Clinic Health System primary care physician, will discuss how to deal with seasonal allergies. And infectious disease specialist Dr. Pritish Tosh will have an update on the effectiveness of this past season's flu vaccine.

Listen to the program on Saturday, May 6, at 9:05 a.m. CDT, and follow #MayoClinicRadio.

Mayo Clinic Radio is on iHeartRadio.

Access archived shows.

Mayo Clinic Radio produces a weekly one-hour radio program highlighting health and medical information from Mayo Clinic.

The post Mayo Clinic Radio: Spinal cord injury research appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

On the next Mayo Clinic Radio program, the study's principal investigators, Dr. Kristin Zhao, director of Mayo Clinic's Assistive and Restorative Technology Laboratory, and Dr. Kendall Lee, director of Mayo Clinic's Neural Engineering Laboratory, will discuss the results and what's ahead in spinal cord injury research.

Also on the program, Dr. Elizabeth Cozine, a Mayo Clinic Health System primary care physician, will discuss how to deal with seasonal allergies. And infectious disease specialist Dr. Pritish Tosh will have an update on the effectiveness of this past season's flu vaccine.

Listen to the program on Saturday, May 6, at 9:05 a.m. CDT.

Miss the show?  Here's the Mayo Clinic Radio podcast.

Follow #MayoClinicRadio, and tweet your questions.

Mayo Clinic Radio is on iHeartRadio.

Mayo Clinic Radio produces a weekly one-hour radio program highlighting health and medical information from Mayo Clinic.

Access archived shows.

The post Mayo Clinic Radio: Spinal cord injury research / seasonal allergies / flu vaccine update appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

"It was almost mind-blowing. Right away I was able to move my toes, something I haven't seen in a while," the Wisconsin man says. It had been years, in fact, since Chinnock's back was broken in an accident. But, as reported in the current issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, his legs seem reawakened by a Mayo Clinic research project.

"Our initial results are, I would have to say, quite exciting," says the director of the Neural Engineering Laboratories at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Kendall Lee. "An electrode gets implanted below where the injury is. We’re not activating the muscle itself, but we are trying to neuromodulate the spinal cord so that the patients can decide whether they want to move their legs or not."

The Mayo Clinic collaboration is striving to replicate and expand on research previously done by UCLA and the University of Louisville. A key element of the project is more than a year of intensive therapy. "That involves a very large team of up to 30 people, ranging from therapists, nurses, kinesiologists – all the way to engineers and neural engineers," says Dr. Kristin Zhao with Mayo Clinic's Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. "They’re very passionate about figuring out this intervention to help more patients."

Dennis Douda shows how it works.

Watch: Researchers strive to help paralyzed man
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn9bi8rzulA
Journalists: A broadcast-quality video pkg (6:12) is in the downloads. Read the script.    

The post Researchers strive to help paralyzed man make strides appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.