Spinal Cord Injuries Clinical Trials

The purpose of this project is to determine if 5 weeks of ketogenic (KD, high-fat) diet vs. standard diet (SD) significantly improves motor and sensory function, glycemic function, and functional independence in patients with spinal cord injury. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to determine if a low glycemic diet and lower-body electrical stimulation can reduce postprandial hypotension in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury. Read Less

The investigator is evaluating data stored on the Collaborative Community Clinic data repository (IRB #201811032). Researchers seek to evaluate the effectiveness of the Collaborative Community Clinic (CCC), an occupational therapy student experiential learning clinic for uninsured or under-insured people with spinal cord injury and disease (SCI/D), using participants' initial and follow-up assessment batteries. Read Less

This is a first-in-human, Phase 1b/2a, open-label, dose-escalation study of a single treatment course consisting of multiple intradetrusor injections of EG110A in male and female adult participants with Neurogenic Detrusor Overactivity (NDO)-related incontinence following Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), who have persistent incontinence after standard of care therapy and who perform Clear Intermittent Catheterization (CIC) on a regular basis. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to determine if electric stimulation to the leg, called transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS), can improve bladder outcomes in acute spinal cord injury. Read Less

Chronic pain affects 1 in 4 US adults, and many cases are resistant to almost any treatment. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) holds promise as a new option for patients suffering from treatment-resistant chronic pain, but traditional approaches target only brain regions involved in one aspect of the pain experience and provide continuous 24/7 brain stimulation which may lose effect over time. By developing new technology that targets multiple, complimentary brain regions in an adaptive fashion, the investigators will test a new therapy for chronic pain that has potential for better, more enduring analgesia. Read Less

Over one million Americans rely on their upper extremities for manual wheelchair propulsion. Shoulder overuse injuries are prevalent among manual wheelchair users and these injuries often result in shoulder pain. Severe shoulder pain can lead some wheelchair users to transition from manual to powered mobility, complicating transportation, and reducing independence in activities of daily living. This project will expand the understanding of a new wheelchair design that allows better positioning of the hand rims and allows for different gearing. The investigators will study steady-state propulsion efficiency with different gear ratios and develop a new system with multiple gear ratios. The advanced gearing will allow for a low gear when initiating movement, going uphill, or when moving over carpet, and then a higher gear option for movements on hard flat level terrain. This system has the potential to dramatically improve shoulder ergonomics and reduce pain in many future manual wheelchair users. Read Less

About 25-51% of adults with acquired spinal cord injury (SCI) have "AIS D" SCI, the lowest severity grade of neurologic injury. Veterans with AIS D SCI generally have better outcomes in mobility, community integration, and employment. However, counterintuitively, they are also at higher risk of poor subjective well-being (SWB) and related psychosocial outcomes. Preliminary evidence suggests that poorer SWB in this group is associated with distinctive, modifiable factors such as less intensity of acute rehabilitation services, limited development of instrumental and social support networks, and underdeveloped disability identity. A significant gap in the care of Veterans with AIS D SCI is that they are unlikely to receive rehabilitation that is responsive to their specific experiences and needs. The proposed study will develop a novel, self-management based program to help Veterans with AIS D SCI. This study is highly significant, as creation of the proposed program is expected to improve SWB and lifetime psychosocial functioning for Veterans with AIS D SCI. Read Less

Growing evidence indicates that electrical spinal cord stimulation improves motor functions both immediately and over the long term via modulating the excitability of spinal circuitry in patients with spinal cord injury. Recently, a novel, non-invasive, well-tolerated, and painless lumbosacral transcutaneous electrical stimulation strategy was demonstrated to be effective in improving lower limb motor function in participants with spinal cord injury. Our current project, cervical transcutaneous electrical stimulation and intensive exercise for arms and hands are also revealing a significant improvement in upper extremity function. Additionally, the subject and caregiver noted that stair climbing ability has been substantially enhanced starting from the first week of cervical stimulation treatment and continues to date. This study is a prospective efficacy trial of combined transcutaneous cervical and lumbosacral electrical stimulation with intensive physical therapy for improving locomotion in people with incomplete tetraplegia and paraplegia. This experiment design consists of two to four-phase intervention programs, including one-month physical therapy only followed by one-month spinal stimulation combined with physical therapy. Between each intervention, washout periods of up to one month may be used to determine any after-effects of the interventions. The intervention arms will be repeated if the functional improvement does not reach a plateau during the first two months of interventions. Sessions will last up to 2 hours/day, 2 to 5 days/week for each arm. Both immediate and lasting improvements in lower extremity function and autonomic function via transcutaneous spinal stimulation and intensive physical therapy will be evaluated. Read Less

This study looks to characterize gradients of dysfunction in the autonomic nervous system after spinal cord injury. The autonomic nervous system plays key roles in regulation of blood pressure, skin blood flow, and bladder health- all issues that individuals with spinal cord injury typically suffer. Focusing on blood pressure regulation, the most precise metric with broad clinical applicability, the investigators will perform laboratory-based tests to probe the body's ability to generate autonomic responses. For both individuals with spinal cord injury and uninjured controls, laboratory-based experiments will utilize multiple parallel recordings to identify how the autonomic nervous system is able to inhibit and activate signals. The investigators anticipate that those with autonomic dysfunction after spinal cord injury will exhibit abnormalities in these precise metrics. The investigators will further have research participants wear a smart watch that tracks skin electrical conductance, heart rate, and skin temperature, which can all provide clues as to the degree of autonomic dysfunction someone may suffer at home. The investigators will look to see if any substantial connections exist between different degrees of preserved autonomic function and secondary autonomic complications from spinal cord injury. In accomplishing this, the investigators hope to give scientists important insights to how the autonomic nervous system works after spinal cord injury and give physicians better tools to manage these secondary autonomic complications. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between common clinical assessments and measurements of the function of brain-spinal cord-muscle connections, and to examine the effects of training a brain-spinal cord-muscle response in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury. A transcranial magnetic stimulator (TMS) is used for examining brain-to-muscle pathways. This stimulator produces a magnetic field for a very short period of time and indirectly stimulates brain cells with little or no discomfort. The target muscle is the wrist extensor (extensor carpi radialis) muscle that bends the wrist back. It is hypothesized that training the wrist extensor muscle response to transcranial magnetic stimulation will increase the strength of the brain-to-muscle pathway, which will improve the ability to move the arm. It is hoped that the results of this training study will help in developing therapy strategies for individuals, promoting better understanding of clinical assessments, and understanding treatments that aim to improve function recovery in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). This study requires 30 visits, and each visit will last approximately 1.5 hours. Read Less

The goal of this study is to identify the effect of different types of noninvasive spinal stimulation on spasticity (involuntary muscle activity), muscle strength, and pain in people with spinal cord injury. The spinal stimulation consists of electrical stimulation applied through one electrode over the skin of the lower back and two electrodes over the stomach. Testing will include participating in measurements before the intervention, during intervention, and immediately after the intervention. This study requires participants to come into Shepherd Center 4 consecutive days a week for 2-3 hours per day across 2-3 weeks. Read Less