Can Paralysis Be Reversed?

Paralysis can be caused by a number of reasons that are completely out of our control. And the sad part is, as of now, there is no cure for paralysis. But researchers in Europe are close to a cure.

When a person is paralyzed, there is a communication break between their brain and the rest of the body. So, the brain is telling them to move, but the message is not reaching the nerves in the rest of the body and hence, there is no movement. A recording device is placed inside the skull of the patient and electrodes are attached to the paralyzed body part. The electrodes transmit the signals from the brain to the paralyzed part of the body effectively bridging the communication gap that causes the paralysis. This can be thought of as a neural bypass.

The implants on the brain are smaller the size of a stamp and have many bristles that listen to the neurons firing in the brain and interprets the signals. These are then transmitted to the electrodes in the paralyzed body part. The concept is similar to that of cochlear implants. Cochlear implants consist of microphones in the ear that transmit the sounds to the auditory nerves, thus giving people who are deaf a chance at hearing. As cochlear implants have already become a success, the future looks bright for the patients who have been paralysed.