Larry Williams of Philadelphia wasn’t supposed to walk again. After a mountain biking accident crushed his C4 to C6 vertebrae, doctors said the damage to his spinal cord was permanent. But an experimental new treatment called NVG-291 may be rewriting that story.
NVG-291 is a peptide—essentially a short chain of amino acids—designed to block the molecular “stop signs” that prevent nerves in the spinal cord from regrowing after injury. It’s part of a small but growing field of therapies trying to convince the body to repair itself, something once thought impossible.
Williams joined a clinical trial and began receiving daily injections of NVG-291 over three months, paired with intense physical therapy: walking with a harness, treadmill sessions, and hand exercises. Before the trial, he could only shuffle ten meters in about forty-five seconds, even with help. Afterward, he could do the same distance in fifteen seconds—using only a walker.
A year later, his progress has continued. Williams can now stand on his own, lift a foot to balance, and even swim laps in a pool. “It feels like my body is finally waking back up,” he told researchers.
Scientists behind the study describe NVG-291 as potentially simpler and safer than stem-cell or implant-based treatments, because it can be injected rather than surgically placed. Still, they’re cautious. More trials are needed to confirm how well it works, how long results last, and whether it helps other types of spinal injuries.
If future studies back up these early results, NVG-291 could represent one of the most important steps yet toward restoring mobility to people with spinal cord injuries—a literal move toward healing what medicine once called irreversible. MORE HERE