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Besides being utterly adorable and begging for a tiny training montage, this rat is actually demonstrating an impressive medical treatment. Because just a few weeks prior, it was actually paralysed with a spinal cord injury.
Researchers at the EPFL have developed a special electrochemical treatment that can help treat paralysis by encouraging the brain to re-wire some of its neural networks to different tasks. And in this case, the newly assigned task is to take control of limbs that were previously paralysed.
The treatment starts with the rats being injected with a series of chemicals that bond to the receptors on their spinal cord’s neurons. These chemicals then allow the dead spinal cord to be receptive to stimulation from electrodes implanted in the rat’s spinal canal. Over time, the stimulation helps to awaken the spinal cord’s neurons, which in turn allows the spinal cord to basically learn how to move and function again. Although, that is a quick summation of a long process.
The treatment does require the rat to undergo physical therapy, including using its paralysed hind legs to walk on a treadmill. (Hence, the adorable vest getup in that photo.) But in just a couple of weeks of training the paralysed rats were able to once again take their first steps on their hind legs, and after six weeks were able to walk for long periods on their own.
Now, unfortunately the treatment is still a long way from being viable for people who’ve been paralysed with a spinal cord injury, but the results are so far incredibly promising. And clinical trials are scheduled to start on humans in just two years. [EPFL via Popular Science]
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The rat was probably only faking paralysis to claim disability benefit so it could sit at home and watch Jeremy Kyle and Loose Women all day.
Don’t forget, it probably had a blue badge and everything. That’s what I hate, those bastard rats stealing all the best spaces and parking all over the double yellow lines.
Where’s the pied piper when you need him?
Talking of Loose Women (and not admitting for a second that I’ve ever watched it). That rat looks a bit like Jenny Eclair…
Mr Flynn you ought to be ashamed of yourself for such a disgraceful insult. I think it’s quite a good looking rat.
I believe that these very rats are paralysed by the scientists who invented the technology, how else would they find a large quantity of rats all paralysed in exactly the same way to be used by being injected and stick shocks and wires into! This is cruel and is performed in switzerland for in england many protests would be carried out because here this is against animal rights!I believe that it is wrong for i have three beautiful, domestic pet rats of my own.. What I would like to know is what they do with the rats after using them to experiment on?! kill them, or keep them (or would keeping them be a WASTE of space.. too much hassle??!!!) altough life is precious!