Laboratory. “These are initial findings, but the patient is continuing to make progress.”

The 26-year-old patient injured his spinal cord at the sixth thoracic vertebrae in the middle of his back three years earlier. He was diagnosed with a motor complete spinal cord injury, meaning he could not move or feel anything below the middle of his torso.

The study started with the patient going through 22 weeks of physical therapy. He had three training sessions a week to prepare his muscles for attempting tasks during spinal cord stimulation. He was tested for changes regularly. Some results led researchers to characterize his injury further as discomplete, suggesting dormant connections across his injury may remain.

Following physical therapy, he underwent surgery to implant an electrode in the epidural space near the spinalGad, Ph.D., UCLA

Yury Gerasimenko, Ph.D., UCLA

The research was funded by Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, Jack Jablonski BEL13VE in Miracles Foundation, Mayo Clinic Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences, Mayo Clinic Rehabilitation Medicine Research Center, Mayo Clinic Transform the Practice, and The Grainger Foundation.

The Broccoli Foundation and Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation supported the UCLA team.

Drs. Edgerton, Gerasimenko and Gad have a financial interest in NeuroRecovery Technologies.

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About Mayo Clinic Proceedings

Mayo Clinic Proceedings is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal that publishes original articles and reviews dealing with clinical and laboratory medicine, clinical research, basic science research, and clinical epidemiology. Mayo Clinic Proceedings is sponsored by Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research as part of its commitment to physician education. It publishes submissions from authors worldwide. The journal has been