View clinical trials related to Spinal Cord Injuries.
Filter by:Pressure ulcers (PU) are skin breakdowns that often form after blood flow in the skin is reduced from prolonged and repeated exposure to externally applied forces. As many as 85% of individuals with a spinal cord injury (SCI) report the occurrence of at least 1 PU since being injured. Despite the increasing attention and emphasis on prevention, PUs still represent a major health risk for persons with SCI. Among the numerous potential physical risk factors identified for the development of a PU were several conditions that have a significant negative effect on skin blood flow. In addition, improper management of blood sugar is a major risk factor for PU development and it impedes healing. It would appear that hormones (i.e., chemical signals in the blood) associated with how the body uses sugar that target the blood vessels may play an important role in the development and formation of a PU. In persons with SCI, skin blood flow responses to insulin (i.e., a hormone that helps the body use sugar and also relaxes the blood vessels allowing blood flow to increase) in the lower extremity were shown to be much lower than healthy individuals. The proposed study in up to 30 individuals with chronic SCI and a difficult-to-heal pelvic region PU has 2 phases: (1) a 4-week "observation" phase [if the PU does not heal appropriately (determined by digital photos and software computation), and the subject is found to be insulin resistant then they will progress to the next phase of the study] and (2) an 8-week "treatment" phase. All participants will continue to receive the standard wound care throughout the observation and treatment phases. If the surface area of the PU does not decrease by more than 30% during the 4-week observation phase, the participant will be eligible to enter the 8-week treatment phase, in which they will be randomly assigned to receive active drug (e.g., pioglitazone) or placebo. The participants will have four study visits in which the following will be acquired: digital image of the wound to monitor wound surface area, skin blood flow measurements of the peri-wound area, and blood tests to monitor liver function, kidney function, blood sugar (hemoglobin A1C, insulin, glucose), nutritional status (albumin and pre-albumin), a complete blood count with differential, and makers of inflammation. Weekly monitoring of symptoms and participant experiences will be closely monitored.
Human Umbilical Cord-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells (UC-MSC) and Bone Marrow Mononuclear Cells (BMMC) from the patient injected into the spinal fluid intrathecally and injected intravenously (IV) is a safe and therapeutic procedure for spinal cord injury (SCI) patients.
This is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase IIb/III study designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Cethrin as a treatment for acute cervical spinal cord injury. During the trial, high and low doses of Cethrin will be compared with placebo.
The aim of this study was to study the effect of stem cell therapy on common symptoms of spinal cord injury patients.
The purpose of this study is to study the effect of stem cell therapy on common symptoms in patients with spinal cord injury.
Acute changes in axial diffusivity will correlate with the severity of injury in patients that suffer an acute spinal cord injury.
People with Spinal cord injury with tetraplegia suffer from respiratory problem due to weakness of the muscles and because the autonomic system dysfunction. Exercise is one way of preserving and improving physical fitness and directly and indirectly reduce risk factors such as insulin resistance, weight loss and low values of HDL. subjects with spinal cord injury with tetraplegia have limited options for exercise: table tennis, gym, pool and more. Because of the nature of the injury which includes the sympathetic failure, they can not easily get the desired pulse to improve physical fitness. Wheelchair rugby in Canada was developed specifically for people with tetraplegia who could not participate in wheelchair basketball. The game combines short, quick races with different aerobic capabilities. Previous studies have shown that participants in wheelchair rugby Improve anaerobic power, oxygen consumption, physical fitness and daily functioning. Wheelchair rugby improves self-confidence and as a result it affects other areas of life. Another study examined sense of self-efficacy, saw improvement in this index for rugby players in a wheelchair at high levels. In the present study the investigators aim to examine whether regular participation in wheelchair Rugby for a season has more impact than other routine exercise (table tennis, gym, swimming).
Corsets are often used in the management of patients with a spinal cord injury. They may help to rigidify the patients' trunk which might help some patients to sit upright; their use may also reduce the sensation of dyspnea some patients have while sitting upright. Due to spinal cord injury, abdominal muscles are weakened which can contribute to alter the respiratory function of the patients. But the corset by rigidifying the abdominal wall can improve the efficiency of the respiratory muscles in some patients and reduce dyspnea in the sitting position for some patients. However, when patients with spinal cord injury are followed over time, one can observe that some patients discontinue corset use. The investigators observed that the patients who pursue the corset use still have a significant improvement of their respiratory function with the corset while the patients who have discontinued the use have improved their respiratory function in the upright position (without the corset). As of now, the investigators do not know whether the use of the corset is discontinued because of a spontaneous improvement of the respiratory function or whether discontinuing the use of the corset may help to develop abdominal spasticity and therefore to improve respiratory function. The investigators seek to investigate this issue in order to optimize the management of patients who present spinal cord injury.
To evaluate discomfort of a new coating and catheter material compared to SpeediCath (SC)
NRI research focuses on nursing interventions that are patient-centered, culturally congruent, cost-effective and outcome-driven. High priority populations of interest are veterans with Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI). The development of innovative tele home techniques for preventing pressure ulcers in veterans with SCI is of high importance in the VA. Our findings may provide clinicians with improved methods for skin and wound assessment and more effective and efficient PUP strategies for Hispanic and non Hispanic veterans. The new model for primary care, the patient-centered Medical Home provides an exciting change in the VA that can benefit from the proposed project.