“Some days, it is a heroic act just to refuse the paralysis of fear and straighten up and step into another day.”
- Edward Albert.
What is Paralysis?
Paralysis refers to temporary or permanent loss of muscular control in any part of the body. It may occur due to several reasons, but in most cases, it is neurological. Furthermore, paralysis is something that can happen to any individual at any time of their lives, which brings us to this exciting question that -
Can paralysis be reversed?
The answer is yes.
Incorporating electrical implants on the spine of a paralyzed individual will soon make reverse paralysis possible in the coming tech-based future. These implants try to stimulate the spinal cord to form new connections between the neurons.
Recently, the use of implants on some partially paralyzed individuals has shown remarkable signs of recovery. The individuals had spinal cord injuries, and via these implants, they could regain their walking ability to some extent.
How do these implants work?
The implants electrically stimulate the damaged spinal cord and try to enhance both muscular and neurological functioning. Moreover, they try to amplify weak signals from the brain to the legs and induces some kind of excitation in the remaining nerve cells. Thereby, it helps the paralyzed person to compensate for the damaged nerves they bear. However, these implants cannot cure individuals with the complete crushed spinal cord in which most of the nerves are already damaged.
Stem cells — Another way to reverse paralysis
Scientists believe that apart from the brain and spinal cord implants, stem cells may also help in reversing paralysis to a certain extent. Stem cells are a remarkable variety of cells that can regenerate damaged cells or can produce specialized cell types in the body. A special kind of therapy with stem cells has also been able to reverse a rare type of paralysis called ‘transverse myelitis’ to some extent. The treatment included the injection of engineered stem cells to repair the central nervous system, also known as the progenitor cells.
With dedicated scientists working day and night to make it a reality for paralyzed individuals to live everyday life, if not entirely, then partially.
With technology making such advancements daily, such days are not very far when this partial reality of reversing paralysis will be entirely accurate.
~by Jahnvee Bajpai
To learn about Neural Implants, CLICK HERE.
Originally published at https://mishmash.co.in on May 2, 2021.
