Reeve, who died in 2004, was among about 300,000 people nationally living with a spinal cord injury, with respiratory complications being the most common cause of illness and death, according to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, which he and his late wife created to support the research.

But the results of a new study, led by researchers at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine, show promise that a group of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord—called interneurons—can boost breathing when the body faces certain physiological challenges, such as exercise and environmental conditions associated with altitude.

The researchers believe their discovery could lead to therapeutic treatments for patients with spinal cord injuries who struggle to breathe on their own. Their findings were recently published in the journal Cell Reports.