Neurostimulation Enables Paraplegic Patient to Walk in Medical Breakthrough
Milan: Neurostimulation has made a paraplegic patient walk in a groundbreaking achievement by Italian researchers. Thanks to spinal neurostimulation, for the first time in the world, a 33-year-old patient with a serious lesion of the conus medullaris has started walking again.
According to Ansa News Agency, the clinical case, published today in Med-Cell Press, involved a collaboration of doctors, physiotherapists, and researchers from the IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele in Milan and the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University (UniSR), along with bioengineers from the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa. Luigi Albano, a neurosurgeon and researcher at the IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele and first author of the study, explained, “In addition to motor recovery, the stimulation determined a significant improvement in neuropathic pain and in the patient’s overall quality of life.”
Six months post-operation, the patient, who had suffered a severe spinal cord injury at the lower thoracic level (T11-T12) four years ago resulting in paralysis of the lower limbs, was able to walk independently for one kilometer with the aid of a walker and braces. This clinical case is part of a research trajectory that commenced with the initial implantation of a spinal neurostimulator in 2023, performed by the team of neurosurgeons at the IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, led by Professor Pietro Mortini, head of Neurosurgery at the IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele and a full professor of Neurosurgery at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University.
The research path continued with the publication in Science Translational Medicine in 2025, showcasing the first results obtained on two implanted patients that demonstrated the effectiveness of the innovative epidural electrical stimulation protocol in treating spinal cord injuries. “With this case study, we have demonstrated, for the first time, the effectiveness of epidural electrical stimulation supported by rehabilitation in restoring motor functions of the lower limbs in a patient affected by paraplegia due to a severe lesion extending to the conus medullaris, or the terminal portion of the spinal cord, allowing him to reach the upright position and walk for short distances,” explains Dr. Albano. Professor Mortini added, “The results of this study offer new hope to patients with severe spinal cord injuries who have experienced a long period of immobility, offering the possibility of recoveries unthinkable until recently thanks to the integration of advanced neuromodulation and personalized rehabilitatio
n.”