In 2006, Wolfgang Jäger was in his 30s when a skiing accident left the young Austrian wheelchair-bound from a spinal cord injury. Fast-forward to today, where an innovative deep-brain stimulation technique is helping the 54-year-old Jäger walk and move again.

Applying deep brain stimulation to a different region in the brain than has been used for other conditions improved the recovery of lower limb movements in two patients with severe spinal cord injuries,

A spinal cord injury (SCI) disrupts communication between the brain and spinal cord, leading to partial or complete paralysis. But recent breakthroughs suggest an unexpected brain region could play a critical role in restoring mobility.

Medical Watch Digest for Dec 2 Deep brain stimulation can help with spinal cord injuries A novel way to reverse paralysis. Researchers at the Swiss Federal Technology Institute call it a major milestone in the treatment of spinal cord injuries.

As hoped, zapping neurons in the brains of injured rats over the course of several weeks helped them, too, to regain the ability to walk. The improvements persisted even when the current was turned off, with analysis of their spinal cords showing an increased density of neuronal wiring below the site of their injuries.

Deep brain stimulation to the lateral hypothalamus has improved lower limb movements in two people with partial spinal cord injury.

In 2006, Wolfgang Jäger was in his 30s when a skiing accident left the young Austrian wheelchair-bound from a spinal cord injury. Fast-forward to today, where an innovative deep-brain stimulation technique is helping the 54-year-old Jäger walk and move again.

Scientists have identified neurons in the lateral hypothalamus that can be targeted through deep brain stimulation to improve walking after spinal cord injury (SCI). This innovative approach shows promise in both animal models and initial human trials,