For once, animal testing is doing something positive for animals as well as humans.
Research on animals may mean the end of worries for folks who have been deprived of the use of their limbs via a spinal injury or a stroke. At least that is what the testing on paralysed monkeys appears to indicate.
The monkeys have been fitted with a brain implant that redirects signals from the brain to the muscles that were previously not receiving those signals. While very basic in concept at this point, it is hoped that the technology will advance to the stage that will allow severe spinal injuries to be circumvented.
The monkeys that were used in the test were not really paralysed. Rather, they were trained to perform a certain movement with their hands prior to being fitted with the implant. They were then injected with a chemical that temporarily paralysed their arms. After a short while, they were able to use the implant to reroute the signals to the affected muscles, restoring their movement.
Human trials of the implant are expected within the next five years, once the need for wires and a few other problems have been eliminated. The possibility of placing the implant directly into the spinal chord is also being investigated.
Brett Venter
