Saturday, April 11, 2026

A Brazilian Scientist Has Developed an Injectible Drug Which May Help Paraplegics Walk


On the evening of 9 September 2025, Brazil’s leading newscast featured a story about a dramatic recovery from spinal cord injury. Bruno Drummond, 31, diagnosed with quadriplegia after a 2018 car accident, had received an experimental treatment, an injection of a compound called polylaminin, within 24 hours after the accident. Now, he was walking, descending stairs, and playfully dancing for the camera.

The scientist leading the research, biologist Tatiana Sampaio of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, had just shared the results from a small pilot study, in which Drummond was a participant, at a press conference held by the pharmaceutical company producing polylaminin. Brazilian media—and, soon, the public—were spellbound. Sampaio became a national celebrity: She met with Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and appeared on the cover of Forbes. Online campaigns have called for her to receive a Nobel Prize. The exuberant press coverage, amplified by social media, prompted dozens of patients with spinal cord injury to demand immediate access to polylaminin, and more than 30 people have received injections.

Brazilian researchers, however, are concerned. The pilot study was too small to show polylaminin can treat spinal cord injuries, they say, and some see methodological flaws. And, they add, patients getting an experimental treatment outside of clinical trials may not be thoroughly monitored for potential risks. A phase 1 trial testing the approach’s safety is scheduled to start this month. “We do not yet know the toxicity, the possible side effects in a larger number of individuals, or the appropriate and effective dose,” says Sonia Brucki, a neurosurgeon at the Clinic Hospital at the University of São Paulo (USP).

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