60 Minutes - Newsmakers

Injuries left them paralyzed. An early promising clinical trial is helping them walk short distances again.

For those who've suffered a traumatic spinal cord injury and are paralyzed, there's rarely encouraging news, which is why what's happening in early clinical trials in a research lab in Lausanne, Switzerland is so remarkable. A renowned French neuroscientist, Gregoire Courtine, and Swiss neurosurgeon, Dr. Jocelyne Bloch, have implanted a small stimulation device on the spine of paralyzed patients, helping them once again stand up and walk. What's even more surprising is their newest innovation, which uses an implant in the skull that enables patients to move their paralyzed legs or arms, just by thinking about it. When we visited their lab, NeuroRestore, in March, they were working with a 39-year-old woman whose spinal cord was severed six and a half years ago. She'd been told she'd never walk again.
Read full article here















