出国留学首选一诺留学

　　A dirt bike accident five years ago left KenStephenson paralyzed from the chest down. Doctorstold him that he would never be able to stand upagain.

　　“They said, based on what they've diagnosed and how I broke my back and everything, that Iwouldn't be able to move my legs again or feel anything ever again,” said Stephenson.

　　Another blow to the young man was the loss of sexual function.

　　Now, however, thanks to a small device implanted in his back that electrically stimulates hisspinal cord, Stephenson has regained some ability to enjoy activities he thought were leftbehind forever.

　　Dr. Roderic Pettigrew, of the National Institutes of Health, explained, “The goal was tomodulate those damaged nerves in the spinal cord so that they once again could, would,become receptive to stimuli.”

　　The stimulator is turned on with a remote control and allows Stephenson to move one leg atthe time. Other functions improved, too.

　　“The sexual function thing was huge for me because it was basically nothing before and, Imean, now, like, it's a lot better,” said Stephenson.

　　Three other patients reported similar improvements, although none of them can walk.

　　Pettigrew stresses that the device is not a cure and that more research is needed before it canbe widely available. He said a spinal cord injury, though, may no longer mean a lifelongsentence of paralysis.

　　“What we see today with these four individuals now being able to have voluntary motion andvoluntary control of their limbs and involuntary control of functions like bladder and bowel isvery exciting,” said Pettigrew.

　　Researchers now plan to implant the device in eight more patients and try to stimulate morethan one muscle group at the time.

　　更多热点资讯欢迎关注：

　　新浪官方微博：@北京诚品一诺教育咨询

　　http://weibo.com/yinuoedu

　　微信订阅号：留学圈 (微信帐号：yinuoliuxue )