View clinical trials related to Spinal Cord Injuries.
Filter by:SCI Thrive is a randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of SCI Thrive (6 week Peer-Led Online Self-Management Program) to improve quality of life and self-efficacy for individuals with SCI.
Neuropathic pain is a common complication following spinal cord injury (SCI) that significantly decreases quality of life. Treatment options are limited, and current treatments can have significant side effects. Those with SCI have identified a need for additional treatment options, particularly those that are not medications. Nabilone and an anti-inflammatory diet are two treatments that may provide pain relief while being better tolerated. This study will evaluate the benefits of these treatments for neuropathic pain after SCI. Study participants will receive either an anti-inflammatory diet or a placebo diet, and nabilone or a placebo for 4 weeks. It is expected that an anti-inflammatory diet and nabilone will significantly decrease pain intensity and improve function. The combination of both treatments together is expected to have a greater effect than each alone.
Patients with traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI) often suffer from spinal cord swelling inside the thecal sac, which contains the spinal cord and surrounding fluid, leading to increased pressure on the spinal cord tissue and decreased spinal cord blood flow at the site of injury. The combination of increased pressure and decreased blood flow causes vascular hypo-perfusion of the spinal cord and exacerbates the severity of injury. This is also referred to as secondary injury. Thus, knowledge of spinal cord hypo-perfusion would allow the treating physician to optimize the hemodynamic condition of patient with acute spinal cord injury and potentially improve functional outcome. We plan to use contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) to determine decrease of blood flow in the spinal cord at the site of injury, during the routine surgery that these patients require to decompress and stabilize their injured spine. This may help us to determine the efficacy of certain treatments in improving blood flow and patients suffering from tSCI.
This study evaluates the feasibility and effects of H-MEX powered exoskeleton in individuals with paraplegia as a result of spinal cord injury.
This was a prospective, multicentric, randomized, double blind, parallel, saline controlled Phase II clinical study to compare the safety and efficacy of PMZ-1620 (INN: Sovateltide) therapy along with standard supportive care in patients of acute spinal cord injury.
In a current first-in-man study, called Stimulation Movement Overground (STIMO) (NCT02936453; CER-VD: 04-2014; Swissmedic: 2016-MD-0002), epidural electrical stimulation (EES) of the spinal cord is applied to enable individuals with severe spinal cord injury (SCI) to complete intensive locomotor neurorehabilitation training. In this clinical feasibility study, it was demonstrated that EES results in an immediate enhancement of locomotor functions and that when applied repeatedly as part of a neurorehabilitation program, EES can progressively improve leg motor control in individuals with severe SCI. Mechanistically, EES acts trans-synaptically upon spinal circuitries through the electrical stimulation of proprioceptive fibers. It is assumed that this stimulation does not increase the level of availability of monoamine neurotransmitters below the SCI level, which are essential for lower extremity movement generation. Specifically, in a non-injured individual, dopamine and serotonin synthesized in the brain and brainstem are released by fibers diffusely innervating the spinal cord, serving to critically mediate excitability of motor neurons and interneurons in lumbar and sacral spinal level. Spinal cord injury would partially or entirely disrupt these modulation pathways, resulting in a detrimental lack of crucial neurotransmitters below the injury level. This lack of endogenous neurotransmitters could potentially be compensated for by pharmacological agents promoting the neurochemical environment necessary for locomotion.
Background: In Switzerland, about 6000 individuals live with the consequences of a spinal cord injury (Brinkhof et al, 2016). One of the major goals after an incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI) is to regain walking function. To this end, different approaches are used in rehabilitation such as treadmill-based, robotic-assisted (exoskeleton or end-effector) and conventional gait training. According to current literature, the superiority of one of these approaches remains unclear (Mehrholz, Harvey, Thomas, and Elsner, 2017); In the research on gait rehabilitation after iSCI, recent randomized clinical trials (RCTs) found no statistical differences between conventional gait training and robotic-assisted gait training. Nevertheless, according to the comparison of effect sizes obtained from these training, these trials suggested that the conventional training approach leads to larger improvements in gait capacity when compared to robotic-assisted therapy (Field-Fote and Roach, 2011; Nooijen, Ter Hoeve, and Field-Fote, 2009). Therefore, these trials highly recommended further research considering these aspects. However, in clinical settings, the implementation of such systematic and intense training sessions remains challenging. The present study aims to test the hypothesis that conventional training might have larger effect sizes on gait capacity and to evaluate the feasibility of such systematic training in a clinical setting of inpatient rehabilitation. Objectives: To contribute to the current knowledge on best clinical practice in gait rehabilitation within the iSCI population. More specifically, the study objectives are two-fold: A first objective is to compare the effects of conventional training, end-effector based therapy and the combination of these interventions on the gait ability of iSCI. A second objective is the evaluation of the feasibility of systematic gait training protocols in a clinical setting. Participants: Individuals with motor incomplete spinal cord injury (iSCI), presenting a traumatic or non-traumatic iSCI with an injury onset <6 months. Intervention: Participants will be trained in one of the three groups by trained physical therapists during 10 sessions, 3x/week with an average duration of 30 minutes. Outcomes: To attain the first objective the effects will be quantified by the following main outcomes: Walking capacity (independence), walking speed, and safety. Feasibility of the systematic intervention will be evaluated using the drop-outs of therapy interventions.
The purpose of this study is to further establish safety and efficacy of the BQ EMF treatment of chronic SCI subjects who demonstrate stability in The Graded and Redefined Assessment of Strength, Sensibility and Prehension (GRASSP) strength score following a one-month physical therapy run-in period.
Urinary tract infections (UTI) represent one of the most common morbidities in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and reason for re-hospitalization. The consequences of recurrent UTI are a decrease in quality of life and considerable health costs. Immunomodulation therapy with UroVaxom is a very promising method for the prevention of UTI, however data in individuals with SCI are very limited. The primary objective of this pilot study is to evaluate the feasibility (recruitment rate, patient attrition, compliance, assessment procedures etc.) of a main trial. A secondary objective is to collect data for an informed sample size calculation. Furthermore, the clinical and biological changes after immunomodulation therapy will be investigated. This is a randomized, placebo-controlled, mono-centric pilot study investigating the feasibility of a main trial regarding the effectiveness of immunomodulation with UroVaxom in the prevention of UTI and the effect on the immune system in individuals with acute SCI during primary rehabilitation. There will be two parallel groups of 12 participants each. Group allocation will be based on a block-randomization stratified according to sex. Study participants and outcome assessors will be blinded to the group allocation. The nursing staff will be unblinded and will administer the treatment and the placebo. Study participants will either receive Uro-Vaxom (one tablet / day) or an off-the-shelf placebo for 90 days. After termination of the treatment, the study participants will be followed for 12 months. Blood and urine samples will be taken before and 90 days, 6 months and 12 months after treatment start.
Exoskeleton-assisted walking (EAW) provides a new mobility option and appears to have potential therapeutic benefits for persons with SCI. However, present day technology is not sufficient to replace the wheelchair. During EAW, users stand upright, maintain static and dynamic balance by actively and passively stimulating trunk and lower limb muscles in a manner not challenged during wheelchair use. Preliminary results in our laboratory suggest that the indirect balance challenges and postural perturbations that result during EAW training transfer to better seated balance control, resulting in more independence during seated activities. The purpose of this pilot study is to determine the effects of EAW training on various measures of seated balance (primary outcomes) and body composition (secondary outcomes). Twenty people with SCI (T4 and below) who are wheelchair users for mobility and cannot walk independently will be recruited. The participants will receive 36 sessions of EAW training in 12 weeks. The outcomes will be evaluated pre (baseline) and post (24 and 36 sessions). If EAW devices can be demonstrated to help people with SCI have better seated balance, in addition to the other potential benefits that are being investigated elsewhere, then exoskeletons may have the possibility to be more readily accepted in the clinical, home environments, and by the insurance companies.