Journal 4 September 20

http://www.physorg.com/news172672409.html

Scientists have recently been able to assist rats with complete spinal injuries to walk again, or at least be able to walk with the assistance of equipment and drugs. The scientists administered drugs that affect serotonin, and also administered electricity to the area of the spinal cord below the injury, and a certain part of the brain that allows for rhythmic motion of the legs (not quite walking, but "stepping") was activated, and the rats were able to walk on a treadmill. With regular exercise, they were able to not only walk, but they could walk backwards, sideways, and could run. This could lead to some amazing breakthroughs medically, and could inspire hope for people who have spinal injuries and are unable to walk. It would take time and research to be able to make the devices necessary mobile and cheap enough for someone to afford, but in time this could help people with crippling injuries walk again. If a way could be found to create these electrical currents without the assistance of researchers, such as a device that could strap to the injured person's back and apply the current, then it may be more plausible to say that this could be a legitimate project to deal with debilitating injuries. This discovery may not be everything it seems, though. The part of the brain that is tapped into in the experiment allows the rats to "step" but not walk as they used to. It is more of an automated rhythm generated by the brain and not a conscious effort to actually walk in the desired direction. There has been other research on the topic of spinal cord injuries, as well, like regenerating the axons of the spinal cord that are damaged or destroyed, such as in this article. These types of research combined could probably help a lot more than each one individually, although they deal with different types of treatment. If the spinal cord is repaired, there isn't really a need to bypass it to get the legs to walk without connection to the brain.