Actor Reeve regains movement, feeling

NEW YORK, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Seven years after a horseback-riding accident left him paralyzed from the neck down, actor Christopher Reeve has regained some movement and sensation and can breathe on his own for 90 minutes at a time.

The "Superman" star's progress is reported in the Sept. 13 issue of People magazine.

Reeve's doctor, John McDonald, told the magazine that the breakthroughs could lead to further recovery, and that Reeve might someday realize his dream of walking out of his wheelchair.

"The fact that he's having some recovery could make that a possibility," said McDonald -- who has treated hundreds of patients, including Reeve, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, where he is medical director of the Spinal Cord Injury Program.

Reeve can move the fingers of his left hand and the toes of both feet. He can also raise his right hand at a 90-degree angle to his wrist, and can sit upright on the edge of a table for up to 30 minutes with little or no assistance.

He can also feel pinpricks on most parts of his body, tell the difference between hot and cold, and feel hugs.

"To be able to feel just the lightest touch is really a gift," Reeve said.

Reeve has been in treatment for three years at McDonald's "activity-based recovery program," based on the idea that a combination of electrical simulation of muscles and repetitive motion exercise might help regenerate nervous system cells. McDonald said the extent of Reeve's recovery is unprecedented.

"No one who has suffered an injury as severe as Chris', and failed to have any initial recovery, has regained the amount of motor and sensory function he has," said McDonald.

The biological basis for Reeve's recovery remains unclear, but McDonald said "most people would believe that some level of regeneration would have had to occur for him to have recovered this much function so many years after his accident."

McDonald's work with Reeve is reported this month in The Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine, a peer-reviewed publication of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

Reeve will come up short of his long-stated ambition of walking by his 50th birthday, Sept. 25, but he told People he's glad for the progress he has made.

"The fact is that even if your body doesn't work the way it used to, the heart and the mind and the spirit are not diminished," said Reeve. "It's as simple as that."

The announcement comes one week before ABC is scheduled to show home video, shot by Reeve's son Matthew, of the actor working a special exercise bicycle as part of his therapy.

A source who has seen the tape told the New York Post that Reeve appears to be walking during the treatment. The newspaper said a family spokesman refused to provide details of what is in the program, and objected to the use of the term "walking."

The footage is part of a special, "Christopher Reeve: Courageous Steps," set to air on Sept. 18. Reeve will talk with Barbara Walters on the Sept. 20 edition of "20/20" to update fans on his progress and promote his new book, "Nothing Is Impossible: Reflections on a New Life."