TMC PULSE

t m c » p u l s e | j u n e 2 0 1 6 18 It would be a sin not to take advantage of those resources and see how we can serve as a medium for collaboration so that the strengths of the dierent institutions can add up to something that will really enhance our patients' recovery. — GERARD FRANCISCO, M.D. Chief Medical Officer at TIRR Memorial Hermann, Director of the NeuroRecovery Research Center and Professor and Chairman of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston McGovern Medical School "When they hooked me all up the first day, I was terrified. He was kind of intimidating," Davis said, referring to her "dance partner" Ekso, an exoskeleton developed by Richmond, California- based company Ekso Bionics. "The first time, it was very stressful, but then once I got the hang of it and we got more familiar with each other, if you will, we started learning how to dance." Davis spent 15 one-hour sessions "dancing" with Ekso, as well as the ponderous REX exo- skeleton—created by Auckland, New Zealand- based robotics company Rex Bionics—under the guidance and supervision of trained physical therapists. The REX exoskeleton is programmed to independently perform the same walking, turning, reversing and climbing up and down stairs motions as humans to give people with MS a means of exercising their legs. "My balance was so much better, and getting around was a lot easier. I was stronger, and my legs had definition again," Davis said. "[Working with the exoskeleton] was a really great experi- ence, and I see it helping so many people." In addition to the Ekso and REX suits, the NRRC also utilizes the ReWalk Rehabilitation System. "I'm always interested in looking at how to help my patients with neurological conditions […] go back to their normal life and go back to what they love to do," said human movement scientist Shuo-Hsiu "James" Chang, Ph.D., assistant pro- fessor of PM&R at McGovern Medical School and lead researcher of the MS clinical trial. "What I want to see is a smile on [our patients'] faces, say- ing that they feel good and they feel better after doing the study. They help us find the answers to our hypotheses, and we try to help them and provide the opportunity to recover their functions. I think that's the most important part." * * * * * Beyond the MS study, the NRRC is also con- ducting a clinical trial out of its Neuromodulation Laboratory to evaluate the efficacy of vagus nerve stimulation for improving upper limb motor functions in patients who have suffered a stroke. Although vagus nerve stimulation has been shown to effectively treat chronic depression and epilepsy, this is the first time researchers are implementing the technique to study its effects on stroke recovery. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stroke is one of the leading causes of disability in the country. More than 795,000 Americans suffer strokes and 130,000 die from strokes each year, averaging one death every four minutes. For those who survive, recovery can take anywhere from weeks or months to years; however, regaining full function of the body is not always guaranteed. Long-term physical disabilities from stroke include muscle weakness, pain in the hands and feet, and paralysis on both or one side of the body, but researchers are opti- mistic that the vagus nerve stimulation clinical trial could improve patients' chances of recover- ing upper limb motor functions. Sponsored by Texas-based medical device company MicroTransponder, which first ran the vagus nerve stimulation clinical trial in January 2013 at the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom, the NRRC is one of only three locations in the United States, along with Dallas and Minneapolis, testing the effects of the tech- nique on stroke survivors. The vagus nerve is the 10th and longest of the 12 cranial nerves responsible for conducting elec- trical impulses between the brain and neural sys- tem. Patients involved in the clinical trial undergo a surgical procedure in which an electrode is Shuo-Hsiu "James" Chang, Ph.D., and patient Kelly Davis celebrate a successful session of walking laps around the NRRC floor in the Ekso exoskeleton. Multiple sclerosis aects an estimated 2 . 3 M I L L I O N individuals worldwide. Source: National Multiple Sclerosis Society

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