New Treatment May Help Paralyzed Patients Move Again
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A new medical treatment from Dr. Zaghoul Ahmed at the College of Staten Island and the New York City Investment Fund may help paralyzed patients have greater control of their own bodies again. NY1’s Amanda Farinacci filed the following report.Julia Giammona, 16, was born with cerebral palsy. She's spent most of her young life in a wheelchair, but for the past three years, she's been able to walk with crutches.
“I used to always take my chair, now we just walk in, like straight in,” said Giammona. “It's like no hassle taking the wheelchair out of the car, putting it together, now it's just like, more freedom.”
Three years ago, Julia was treated by Dr. Zaghoul Ahmed, a physical therapist and scientist who teaches at the College of Staten Island.
For three weeks, electrical pulses were sent to her brain and to different points along her spinal cord. They worked to stimulate her body's natural pulses and muscles, doing what patients with spinal cord injuries and disorders cannot do alone.
“After the stimulation, the brain would be able to activate the muscle, and that, in turn, improves the functional recovery after the injury,” said Dr. Ahmed.
After the treatment, Julia was able to climb stairs with her crutches. She could bend her knees with some help and could sleep more comfortably with her legs bent on her side.
Dr. Ahmed recently won a $250,000 grant from the New York City Investment Fund to help move his idea from the laboratory to the marketplace.
“If he's successful and he gets the approval to do this by the Federal Drug Administration, then his plan is to set up a series of clinics around the city,” said Maria Gotsch of the New York City Investment Fund. “So he's not only bringing technology, but then he's got a whole network of clinics that can all hire a range of people.”
So far, seven patients with varying levels of paralysis have undergone the treatment. Dr. Ahmed said all of them have had some level of success.
Though he cautions it may be too soon to tell if those results are typical, he's optimistic.
The grant money will fund a clinical trial at Staten Island University Hospital for 96 more patients. Julia hopes to be one of them and that more treatments and improving technology could mean that one day, she won’t need crutches, either.