Antonio Oliviero
Head of the Neurology Service at the National Hospital for Paraplegics (Toledo) and Head of Research and Innovation at the Los Madroños Hospital (Madrid)
This is an excellent quality study on a relevant technological advance: transcutaneous (non-invasive) cervical spinal cord electrical stimulation associated with rehabilitation is safe and could be effective. It should be noted that the study has no comparator, i.e. there is no group [of patients] that does only rehabilitation or only stimulation or simulated stimulation.
It is a technology that is easy to implement and can probably be implemented in a short time - 1 to 3 years - in clinical practice. Research continues to advance, improving each time the treatment of spinal cord injury, but we are still far from a cure.