A neurotechnology developed in the US and electrically stimulates the spinal corddirectly improves for the first time the upper limb mobility after stroke, thus allowing patients to perform their usual daily activities more easily.

A pair thin metal electrodes spaghetti-like implants were implanted for nearly a month along the neck on the surface of the spinal cord.

They activated through electrical impulses intact nerve cell circuits inside the spinal cord, thus enabling people who had suffered a stroke to open and close their palm, raise their arm above their head, use a knife and fork for the first time since from nine years or to open a lock.

The researchers, led by assistant professor of neurosurgery Marco Capogroso of the University of Pittsburgh and professor of mechanical engineering Douglas Webber of the Carnegie Mellon University Neuroscience Institute, who made the relevant publication in the medical journal “Nature Medicine”, successfully tested the new method on two female patients aged 31 and 47, who suffered from chronic muscle weakness of the upper limbs due to a stroke.

Epidural electrical stimulation was found to significantly improve arm mobility in both patients, which the researchers say paves the way for the technique (Spinal Cord Stimulation-SCS) to be used on a wider scale in the future after strokes that leave “crumbs” in the hands. The positive effect of SCS was maintained for four weeks after electrical stimulation was stopped.

It is universally estimated that the one in four people over the age of 25 will have a stroke in their lifetime.

Almost three-quarters (75%) of people who suffer a stroke, subsequently experience long-term problems with motor control of their hands, with the consequence that their motor autonomy is limited. So far there are no effective treatments for paralysis after stroke.

Epidural spinal cord stimulation is a clinical technology already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that has so far shown promise for people with chronic pain or lower limb movement difficulties due to spinal cord injury. The technique has now been adapted for the case of the upper extremities.

The scientists said, however, that further studies in more patients will be needed to confirm the safety and effectiveness of the method in the upper limbs of stroke patients.

The researchers have already founded the start-up company Reach Neuro to “translate” their method into clinical use.