ScienceDaily (Nov. 22, 2010) — Engineers have developed a new type of microchip muscle stimulator implant that will enable people with paraplegia to exercise their paralysed leg muscles.
It is the first time that researchers have developed a device of this kind that is small enough to be implanted into the spinal canal and incorporates the electrodes and muscle stimulator in one unit. The implant is the size of a child's fingernail.
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) project is being led by Professor Andreas Demosthenous from University College London. It includes engineers from Freiburg University and the Tyndall Institute in Cork.
"The work has the potential to stimulate more muscle groups than is currently possible with existing technology because a number of these devices can be implanted into the spinal canal," said Professor Andreas Demosthenous. "Stimulation of more muscle groups means users can perform enough movement to carry out controlled exercise such as cycling or rowing."
The devices could also be used for a wide range of restorative functions such as stimulating bladder muscles to help overcome incontinence and stimulating nerves to improve bowel capacity and suppress spasms.
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ScienceDaily (Sep. 8, 2010) — In a surprising and unexpected discovery, scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center have found that a single type of gene acts as a master organizer of motor neurons in the spinal cord. The finding, published in the September 9, 2010 issue of Neuron, could help scientists develop new treatments for diseases such as Lou Gehrig's disease or spinal cord injury.
The "master organizer" is a member of the Hox family of genes, best known for controlling the overall pattern of body development. By orchestrating a cascade of gene expression in the early embryo, Hox genes allow for the creation of an animal's overall structure and body part orientation. Scientists first discovered the genes in fruit flies but they have since detected Hox activity in mammals. Humans harbor 39 such genes and 21 have been identified as coordinating motor neurons in the spinal cord.
"We knew that there were 21 Hox genes that determine how connections are made between motor neurons in the spinal cord and muscles in the limbs," says Jeremy S. Dasen, PhD, an associate professor in the Departments of Physiology and Neuroscience at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Early Career Scientist. "But what was surprising to us in this study was that a single Hox gene acts as a global organizer of motor neurons and their connections. The next step will be to see how Hoxc9 in motor neurons affect motor behaviors such as walking and breathing.
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ScienceDaily (Nov. 22, 2010) — Engineers have developed a new type of microchip muscle stimulator implant that will enable people with paraplegia to exercise their paralysed leg muscles.