An experimental procedure involving an implanted spinal stimulator is showing early promise in helping paralyzed patients regain strength and partial use of their hands. “There currently is no effective treatment for spinal cord injury, and for those who lose function of their hands, any meaningful improvement a year after injury is extremely rare,” said Daniel Lu, MD, Ph.D., an associate professor of neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and director of the school’s Neuroplasticity and Repair Laboratory. “With this approach, however, we’ve seen encouraging signs even five years after injury.”