Scientists have shown for the first time that neuroprosthetic brain implants may be able to help stroke patients with partial paralysis.

From pacemakers constructed of materials that so closely mimic human tissues that a patient's body can't discern the difference to devices that bypass injured spinal cords to restore movement to paralyzed limbs, the possibilities presented by organic electronics read like something from a science fiction novel.

MIT researchers have found that the body's innate ability to adapt to recurring stimuli could be leveraged to design more effective and less costly artificial respirators. The new approach could minimize the need for the induced sedation or paralysis currently necessary for some patients on mechanical ventilation.

For the first time researchers have developed an animal model for oral poliovirus infection. They report their findings in the August 2007 issue of the Journal of Virology.

Research on rats with crushed spinal cords, similar to human injury, reveals that treatment soon after injury combining radiation therapy to destroy harmful cells and microsurgery to drain excess fluids significantly increases the body’s ability to repair the injured cord leading to permanent recovery from injury, according to the study published in the July 18 peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE.

A man from the Sunshine Coast, in south-east Queensland, who was paralysed in a motorcycle accident almost two years ago, hopes to walk again after receiving a controversial stem cell treatment in India.

High School Student Suffers Paralysis from Chest Down

Researchers have called for a national database to be set up to identify major complications arising from epidural pain relief after a small number of serious problems were identified during a six-year UK study, according to the April issue of Anaesthesia.