Every morning for 2½ years, Calven Goza tried to move his
legs, hoping against hope and medical science that this time, this day, would
be different. An accident with a drunken driver left Goza paralyzed below the
chest. No amount of wishful thinking could help him move his legs again. But on
December 5, Goza, 26, got another chance. This time, researchers wheeled him
into a laboratory at the University of Louisville. There, he became one of the
first study subjects to receive a new therapy designed to help paralyzed people
move their legs again.
Sensors were wired up and down his leg. Researchers had
implanted electrodes in his spine. On his toe was a ring and a string. The goal
was for him to pull that string with his toe. For two hours, the scientists
sent jolts of electricity to the receptors surgically implanted in Goza's
spine.
Goza tried mightily to move his legs -- even a toe -- but
nothing happened. The researchers played with different combinations of
voltage, changing currency and polarity. But still, Goza couldn't move. They
amped it up, and his toe moved the string. Doctors changed the configuration of
the voltage again, and something amazing happened.
A paralyzed Goza moves his legs after doctors increase the
voltage in sensors attached to his legs. Goza bent his knee. A man who hasn't
been able to move his legs since the accident was now lifting his leg off the
table. The whole room lit up with smiles. Over the next few hours, Goza lifted
his legs several more times. Science made the impossible possible for Goza.
Goza won't necessarily walk again, even though his doctors
are hopeful. Over the past five years, four other paralyzed men have had
this therapy, but none of them can walk. At least not yet. Still, other
paralyzed men have experienced benefits from the therapy that some say may be
even more important than walking: Now, they can control their bowels and
bladders. They can even have sex.
Another study subject's blood pressure, which had been
fluctuating wildly and making him feel weak, came back under control after the
therapy. They will continue to examine the treatment's impact on the
cardiovascular system. And in 2015, the Louisville researchers plan to test
this overall treatment in seven more patients.
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