Health
Spinal cord treatment restores function for paralyzed patients in study: ‘New hope’
Ninety percent of paralyzed patients regained strength or function in their upper limbs after receiving an experimental therapy, a new study found.
After receiving spinal cord simulation from ONWARD Medical’s ARC-EX system, the participants saw “significant improvement” in their hand and arm function, according to a press release.
The study, published on Monday in Nature Medicine, included 65 participants at 14 leading spinal cord injury centers in the U.S., Europe and Canada.
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The participants received non-invasive electrical stimulation of the spinal cord using ARC-EX, and then researchers gauged the safety and effectiveness of the system.
Improvement was seen even in people whose injuries occurred up to 34 years ago, the release stated.
After receiving spinal cord simulation from ONWARD Medical’s ARC-EX system, the participants saw “significant improvement” in hand and arm function, according to a new study. (Nature Medicine)
“When a person suffers a spinal cord injury, after two to three months of rehabilitation, they are sent home and told there is nothing further that can be done,” Dave Marver, CEO of ONWARD Medical, told Fox News Digital.
The company is global; its main headquarters is in The Netherlands.
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“This week’s publication in Nature Medicine heralds a new era in spinal cord injury care. The Up-LIFT trial demonstrated that ONWARD ARC therapy can restore strength and function of the hands and arms up to 34 years after a spinal cord injury.”
“This is a game-changer for the spinal cord injury community and their loved ones.”
Improvement was seen even in people whose injuries occurred up to 34 years ago, the release stated. (iStock)
The trial results far exceeded the researchers’ expected 50% response rate — giving “new hope” to people with SCI, noted lead study author Chet Moritz, Ph.D., professor of electrical and computer engineering and rehabilitation medicine at the University of Washington, in the release.
After two months, more than half the paralyzed participants regained enough “grasp force” to lift up a filled cup, pick up an item with a fork or insert a key, according to Moritz.
“This is a game-changer for the spinal cord injury community and their loved ones.”
“This indicates not only improved strength and function, but also the potential for greater independence with ARC-EX Therapy,” he said.
Additional benefits included reduced muscle spasms, improved sleep and a greater sense of touch in the upper body, the release said.
Eighty-seven percent of the participants reported having an improved quality of life after receiving the therapy.
After two months, more than half of the paralyzed participants regained enough “grasp force” to lift up a filled cup, the study noted. (iStock)
“Improvement in arm and hand function is among the highest priorities for people with tetraplegia (paralysis in the upper and lower body) who have endured far too long without effective therapies for functional recovery,” Marver, the company CEO, said in the release.
“The findings published in Nature Medicine provide critical and compelling evidence that ARC-EX has the potential to restore independence in daily activities and improve [the patients’] quality of life.”
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Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, was not involved in the trial but commented on the results.
“This has been tried for many years with reports that it helps, but it has not yet gone mainstream in patients with upper and lower spinal cord paralysis,” he told Fox News Digital.
“Improvement in arm and hand function is among the highest priorities for people with tetraplegia.”
“This small study in a very prominent journal is very encouraging in terms of some return of upper extremity function,” Siegel continued.
“It warrants further study and more universal use in these patients.”
It’s possible that this type of spinal cord stimulation could be combined with the increasing use of other brain and spine interfaces to restore function, the doctor added.
ONWARD Medical’s ARC-EX system, pictured here, performs non-invasive electrical stimulation of the spinal cord. (ONWARD Medical)
John Hinson, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon in Florida, was also not involved in the study but shared his insights on the findings.
“Patients with incomplete quadriplegia can be left with weakness and muscle spasm, as well as sensory changes that can cause significant loss of function,” he told Fox News Digital.
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Traditional treatments for these injuries have included physical therapy, he noted, but results can be limited.
“Review of the trial results shows that by two months of use, over half of the patients showed significant functional improvement in activities such as grasping and pinching required for basic daily tasks,” Hinson said.
“If these results can be predictably achieved, it would greatly improve the lives of patients with spinal cord injuries that resulted in incomplete quadriplegia.”
Traditional treatments for these injuries have included physical therapy, but results can be limited, one doctor noted. (iStock)
This could potentially be a “big factor” in the treatment of these patients, according to Hinson.
ONWARD has submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to gain approval for the ARC-EX system, with clearance expected later this year.
“We are laser-focused on our commitment to bringing this first-of-its-kind technology to the SCI community as soon as possible,” Marver said.
The ARC-EX System will require a prescription from a qualified health care professional once it is cleared for use, according to the company.
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A new treatment for endometrial cancer demonstrated strong potential in a Phase 3 clinical trial.
Drugmaker Merck announced Monday that the investigational drug sacituzumab tirumotecan (sac-TMT) met its “primary endpoints” of overall survival and progression-free survival in patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer.
The TroFuse-005 trial is the first global Phase 3 trial to “demonstrate statistically significant improvement” in survival compared to chemotherapy in these patients, according to a Merck press release.
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This was also the first and only antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) to achieve such a result for endometrial cancer patients in this setting, the researchers stated.
An ADC is a targeted cancer therapy that delivers more of the drug to tumor cells while limiting damage to healthy cells.
The investigational drug, sac-TMT, is administered every two weeks via IV infusion. (iStock)
The trial involved 776 patients with endometrial cancer whose disease worsened after receiving both platinum chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
The patients were randomly assigned sac-TMT, administered every two weeks, or a treatment of the physician’s choice, including doxorubin or paclitaxel chemotherapy. The patients were aware of which treatment they were receiving.
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Those receiving sac-TMT showed “clinically meaningful improvement” in their disease state compared to the treatment of physician’s choice, the researchers found.
The study also met response rate benchmarks and exhibited similar side effects to earlier studies of the same drug, Merck reported.
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The drugmaker did not disclose any statistics on exact survival benefit, response rate, side effect rates or other details, but the researchers aim to present this Phase 3 data at an upcoming medical meeting.
The drug “may be able to address a critical unmet need for certain patients with advanced endometrial cancer,” said the lead researcher (not pictured). (iStock)
Dr. Domenica Lorusso, the study’s global lead investigator and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Humanitas University and Humanitas San Pio X in Milan, wrote in a press release that these results show sac-TMT “may be able to address a critical unmet need for certain patients with advanced endometrial cancer, one of the only cancers increasing in both incidence and mortality worldwide.”
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“Despite recent advances, patients whose disease progresses following treatment with platinum and immunotherapy are urgently in need of new options, and these findings show for the first time that a TROP2 ADC may be an effective option in this setting,” she added.
Dr. Brian Slomovitz, co-director of gynecologic oncology at Mount Sinai and an investigator on this trial, reflected on the study findings during an interview with Fox News Digital.
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“Unlike many other cancers that we are treating, the number of endometrial cancers and the number of deaths due to endometrial cancers are on the rise,” Slomovitz noted.
“In the United States, the number of deaths due to endometrial cancer has surpassed the number of deaths due to ovarian cancer, [making it] the deadliest of all gynecologic malignancies.”
Endometrial cancer has become “the deadliest of all gynecologic malignancies,” one doctor shared. (iStock)
Despite recent advancements introducing immunotherapy as the standard of care, “better treatment options” for patients with recurrent disease “remains an unmet need,” Slomovitz commented.
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“If the full data confirm this announcement, the key questions will be the magnitude of the survival benefit and the toxicity profile — those will define sac-TMT’s role,” he said.
“But an overall survival improvement in recurrent disease is a real, meaningful result for patients and their families, not just a statistical one.”
WHO issues WARNING after DEADLY ebola outbreak
The CDC is coordinating the ‘safe withdrawal’ of at least six Americans exposed to a deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo after the WHO declared a global health emergency.
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The World Health Organization has declared an international public health emergency as a growing Ebola outbreak in Central Africa sparks concern that the deadly virus could spread beyond the region — including into the United States.
The outbreak has been linked to dozens of suspected deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and neighboring Uganda.
Ebola is a zoonotic, viral disease that is rare but life-threatening, according to Cleveland Clinic. Outbreaks typically develop in areas of Africa, starting in species like antelope, fruit bats and nonhuman primates.
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There are four different Ebola strains, also known as orthoebolaviruses. Bundibugyo virus is the strain that has been detected in the DRC outbreak.
While the outbreak does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency, U.S. officials are warning Americans not to visit the area, escalating the State Department travel advisory from a Level 3 to Level 4 on Sunday.
A visitor washes his hands at a checkpoint before entering Kyeshero Hospital in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on May 18, 2026, as part of Ebola prevention measures following a reported case in the city. (Jospin Mwisha/AFP)
One American tested positive for Ebola on May 17 while working in Congo and is being transported to Germany for treatment with other Americans who are high-risk contacts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of May 18, there have been 11 confirmed and 336 suspected cases, including 88 deaths in the DRC.
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“This is a rapidly evolving situation, and case counts are subject to change,” the CDC noted.
While no cases have been detected in the U.S., there is a possibility that it could make its way into American territory, posing a threat to public health.
“This virus is transmitted only person-to-person via infected blood and body fluids from symptomatic people.”
Dr. Jacob Glanville, a leading immunologist at Centivax in San Francisco, which is developing a universal flu vaccine, spoke with Fox News Digital about the potential spread of Ebola into the U.S.
The doctor noted that the virus has a two- to 21-day incubation period, during which an infected person can show no symptoms and the infection cannot be detected by tests.
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“It is thus possible for Ebola to move across international borders silently, bypassing screening,” he said.
“Some travel restrictions from the affected area have been put in place to limit this risk, although as this outbreak was spreading silently for months, it is possible that an infected traveler had come to the U.S. in the past 21 days from the affected areas prior to the travel restrictions.”
A visitor washes his hands at a checkpoint outside Kyeshero Hospital in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on May 18, 2026, as part of Ebola prevention measures following the first reported case in the city. (Jospin Mwisha/AFP)
Glanville noted that while the outbreak is “growing rapidly,” one week ago there were fewer than 500 global cases.
“Thus, the chance of an infected traveler having come to the U.S. remains quite low for the time being,” he said.
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Dr. Robert H. Hopkins, Jr., medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, agreed that the threat to American communities remains low.
“The viruses that cause Ebola pose a very small risk, even to travelers to areas with outbreaks,” the Arkansas-based expert told Fox News Digital. “This virus is transmitted only person-to-person via infected blood and body fluids from symptomatic people, and rarely from infected animals.”
Those who believe they have been exposed to Ebola should seek medical attention immediately, experts advise. (iStock)
Ebola spreads through direct contact with infected blood, bodily fluids or remains of infected people or animals, including fluids such as saliva and sweat, according to Hopkins.
Cleveland Clinic notes that it is “very unlikely” for Ebola to be an airborne infection.
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The virus starts with flu-like symptoms, including fever, chills, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, vomiting/diarrhea and loss of appetite. Other signs may include a rash or spots of blood under the skin, hiccups, bruising and red, bloodshot eyes.
As the disease is a type of viral hemorrhagic fever, it causes damage to the blood vessels and can lead to more serious symptoms, including severe bleeding or hemorrhaging, neurological disorders and severe vomiting.
Health workers dressed in protective gear begin their shift at an Ebola treatment center in Beni, Congo, on July 16, 2019. (Jerome Delay/AP)
For those who have traveled to the outbreak area, Hopkins recommends monitoring for symptoms for three weeks after departing and seeking immediate care if symptoms develop.
Treatments are available, along with a vaccine that can help protect high-risk individuals and prevent further spread, according to healthcare professionals.
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Avoiding contact with blood, body fluids, and sick or deceased people and animals is “highly effective in the prevention of Ebola transmission,” Hopkins advised.
“If contact is required, high-quality personal protective equipment is recommended before contact with potentially infectious people and/or materials,” he added.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Sinkewicz and Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.
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