Despite being forced by Hurricane Irma to close its outpatient facilities for several days, the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., is expected to forge ahead this month with a pivotal clinical trial testing whether an electrical implant can rewire the brains of stroke patients so they can use their arms and hands again.
If the patients who receive implants regain significantly more function than those who get only standard rehabilitation, it will show that stroke-damaged brain circuits can be bypassed like shorts in a circuit board, with healthy neurons coaxed into performing the job of those fried by stroke.
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If it fails I can always use it to jump start my ’72 Mustang.