(ANSA) – ROME, MAY 27 – Neurostimulation has made a paraplegic patient walk in a world first achieved 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.
The clinical case, published today in Med-Cell Press, involved doctors, physiotherapists and researchers from the IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele in Milan and the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University (UniSR) together with bioengineers from the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa.
“In addition to motor recovery, the stimulation determined a significant improvement in neuropathic pain and in the patient’s overall quality of life,” explains Luigi Albano, neurosurgeon and researcher at the IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele and first author of the study.
Six months after the operation, the patient, who suffered a severe spinal cord injury at the lower thoracic level (T11-T12) four years ago that caused paralysis of the lower limbs, walked independently for one kilometer with only the aid of a walker and braces. The clinical case is part of a research path that began with the first 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 full professor of Neurosurgery at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University. The path continued with the publication in Science Translational Medicine, in 2025, of the first results obtained on two implanted patients that demonstrate the effectiveness of the innovative epidural electrical stimulation protocol in the treatment of 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. “The results of this study – adds Professor Mortini – 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 rehabilitation”.
(ANSA).
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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.
The clinical case, published today in Med-Cell Press, involved doctors, physiotherapists and researchers from the IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele in Milan and the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University (UniSR) together with bioengineers from the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa.
“In addition to motor recovery, the stimulation determined a significant improvement in neuropathic pain and in the patient’s overall quality of life,” explains Luigi Albano, neurosurgeon and researcher at the IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele and first author of the study.
Six months after the operation, the patient, who suffered a severe spinal cord injury at the lower thoracic level (T11-T12) four years ago that caused paralysis of the lower limbs, walked independently for one kilometer with only the aid of a walker and braces. The clinical case is part of a research path that began with the first 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 full professor of Neurosurgery at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University. The path continued with the publication in Science Translational Medicine, in 2025, of the first results obtained on two implanted patients that demonstrate the effectiveness of the innovative epidural electrical stimulation protocol in the treatment of 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. “The results of this study – adds Professor Mortini – 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 rehabilitation”.
(ANSA).
Read article…
