The University of Louisville Alumni Magazine: for alumni, faculty, staff, students and anyone that is a UofL Cardinal fan.
Issue link: https://louisville.epubxp.com/i/43017
Research Small steps, giant leaps Miracles don't happen nearly as often as most of us would like to believe. But they do happen. Just ask Rob Summers. The former college relief pitcher was left paralyzed in 2007 after a hit-and-run accident near his Oregon home. Today, through the work of UofL scientist Susan Harkema, PhD, and a nationwide team of her colleagues, he's able to stand on his own. He can also move his toes, ankles, knees and hips on command. Not only that: Rob Summers can walk. Witnessing this feat brings tears to the eyes of even the most cynical among us. At a recent therapy session at Louisville's Frazier Rehab Institute, 18 people — including two camera crews, an ESPN reporter and Summers' parents — were silenced as the result of hard work of both patient and doctor was brought to reality. The focus of physical therapists and researchers is palpable when the young man his teammates used to call "Superman" achieves what was once only a prayer in the heart of Christopher Reeve, the late quadriplegic actor and iconic Superman of movie fame. Funding for the study that makes all this possible was provided by grants from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. The results are, of course, unprecedented. "This is a breakthrough: It opens up a huge op- portunity to improve the daily functioning of people with spinal cord injuries," said Harkema, a faculty member in the UofL Department of Neurosurgery and rehabilitation research direc- tor of the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center. "But we have a long road ahead." Summers, who was in extraordinary physical condition before his injury, is the only person to have been studied thus far in the application of continual direct current — via implanted electrodes — at varying frequencies and intensities to the part of the spinal cord that controls movement. The epidural stimulation mimics the signals the brain normally sends to initiate movement. When that occurs, the spine's neural networks combine with sensory input from the legs and direct the spinal cord to move the muscles and joints. This all happens with an enormous phalanx of computer monitoring, pulleys and highly trained professionals. At the beginning of his road to mobility, Summers endured an extensive regimen of locomotor training while suspended above a treadmill. After that, rehab specialists would move his legs to assist his spinal cord neural networks to produce the muscled movements that allow him to stand and take assisted steps. As complicated as this is, it's nearly impossible to believe. And then…it happens. "This has completely changed my life. Four years ago, I was completely unable to move even a toe," said Summers, sweating through his t-shirt from the exertion of walking for about 15 minutes. "To have the ability to stand on my own is the most amazing feeling. 12|LOUISVILLE.EDU Beyond all, my sense of well-being has changed. My physique and muscle tone have improved greatly. And I believe epidural stimulation will get me out of this chair." As director of the Reeve Foundation's NeuroRecovery Network, Harkema works to translate scientifi c advances into actionable rehab treatments. Her work was most recently published in The Lancet, Great Britain's prestigious medical journal. "To have the ability to stand on my own is the most amazing feeling. Beyond all, my sense of well-being has changed. My physique and muscle tone have improved greatly. And I believe epidural stimulation will get me out of this chair." —Rob Summers Taking the long view of their research, Harkema and her team of colleagues that includes co-principal investigator V. Reggie Edgerton, PhD, of UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine, envision a day when spinal cord injury patients are able to use a portable spinal cord stimulation unit and, with the assistance of a walker, stand independently, maintain balance and execute effective stepping. Until then, as the "fi rst and only" in this pursuit, Sum- mers continues to honor the moniker he earned once upon a time on a baseball diamond. Watching him and Harkema succeed in their joint quest, it's not so hard to believe in miracles. And you want to cheer for both of them.