View clinical trials related to Spinal Cord Injuries.
Filter by:People with spinal cord injuries (SCI) are particularly prone to complications from excessive sitting, because many are not able to stand without support. Excessive sitting after SCI is believed to contribute to pressure injuries, pain, osteoporosis, joint stiffness, spasticity, and worsening bowel and bladder function. The VA has developed, patented, and licensed a mobile manual standing wheelchair (MMSW), and the investigators believe the key feature of being able to wheel around while in a standing position will dramatically change how paralyzed Veterans function in their home and community. If this expanded utility is realized, persons with SCI may naturally spend more time standing and less time sitting. To test these ideas, Veterans with SCI will be randomized to using one of two manual standing wheelchairs at home and in the community for two months.
Spinal cord injury (SCI), induced by damage to the spinal cord, can cause life-altering levels of disability including the development of chronic pain. Central Neuropathic Pain (CNP) typically develops within months after injury in 40-50% of SCI patients, affecting everyday activity, sleep and mood. There is no cure for CNP, it can be very difficult to treat and is often refractory to any pharmacological treatments. In a previous study (study no. 14/WS/1029) the principle investigators showed that the likelihood of CNP developing can be predicted by defining characteristics of brain waves that are related to pain. We will use electroencephalograph (EEG) to measure brain activity in people early after SCI, before they develop pain, knowing that about half will develop pain within a year. We aim to recruit 80 participants, aged 18-80; 40 with subacute spinal injury (level C3-T12) and no symptoms of CNP; 20 with symptoms of CNP and 20 able-bodied participants. Completeness of injury is irrelevant. Patients will be recruited by clinical consultants within national spinal units in Glasgow and Stoke Mandeville. Patients will undergo two EEG recording sessions in which they will imagine movements while we record EEG. Sessions will also involve basic sensory testing and completion of questionnaires. Able-bodied participants will be recruited by the Philosophy Doctor (PhD) candidate at the University of Glasgow and undergo only one EEG session (identical to SCI patients). The primary aim of this study is to use early EEG markers of CNP to optimise and validate an existing computer program based on machine learning to enable more accurate prediction of pain in newly injured patients with the hope of aiding future treatments. Secondary aims include characterising EEG features which might describe different phases in patients' development of CNP and exploring possible differences between pain at/below the level of SCI based on EEG markers.
The main objective of this pilot study is to obtain information, which will be used for the design of a main randomized controlled trial (RCT) with a larger size based on feasibility, validity and sample size estimation as well as the potential effects of pre- and probiotic intake on intestinal microbiota. A larger trial will then be designed to test the hypothesis that adding probiotics or prebiotics may improve gut microbiome composition, gastrointestinal symptoms as well as cardiometabolic health indices in mid-term and possibly lead to improved sports performance over a longer-term period in athletes with a Spinal Cord Injury.
The main objective of this placebo-controlled randomized double-blinded study is to investigate the effect of vitamin D supplementation on vitamin D status (25(OH)D concentration in the blood) among individuals with a chronic spinal cord injury (SCI). Further, the effects of vitamin D supplementation on several other parameters (e.g. bone density and mood) are investigated, which could reveal positive secondary effects of supplementation that are especially relevant for clinical practice.
The purpose of the Finnish Spinal Cord Injury Study (FinSCI) is to identify factors related to the health and functioning of people with spinal cord injury (SCI), their challenges with accessibility and how such factors are interconnected. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) is used in the study as a structured framework. The study participants will be recruited from three SCI outpatient clinics, which together are responsible for the life-time care of the SCI population in Finland. Mixed methods are used including a questionnaire and interviews. The survey will be formed from patient-reported instruments; SCI-specified Spinal Cord Injury Secondary Condition Scale, Spinal Cord Independence Measure, Nottwil Environmental Factors Inventory Short Form and selected items of the generic instruments of Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System and National study of health, well-being and service. The survey covers 51 ICF categories. The study results can help develop care and rehabilitation policies with SCI, the planning of training models and information provided to various parties involved.
The medical records of 215 patients with spinal cord injury(SCI) at the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine of the 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China were evaluated between January 1, 2016 and December 20, 2019. According to the inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria, 101 patients were included. The patients were dichotomized into two groups: complete SCI group and incomplete SCI group, based on the American Spinal Injury Association Guidelines Impairment Scale (AIS) .The investigators retrospectively collected records of urodynamic evaluations of this patients and then analyze the urodynamic parameters,including detrusor overactivity (DO), bladder compliance (BC), bladder-filling sensation, maximum cystometric capacity (MCC), detrusor external sphincter dyssynergia (DESD), maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax), detrusor pressure at a maximum urinary flow rate(PdetQmax).
People with spinal cord injury (SCI), stroke and other neurodegenerative disorders can follow two pathways for regaining independence and quality of life. One is through clinical interventions, including therapeutic exercises. The other is provided by assistive technologies, such as wheelchairs or robotic systems. In this study, we combine these two paths within a single framework by developing a new generation of body-machine interfaces (BoMI) supporting both assistive and rehabilitative goals. In particular, we focus on the recovery of muscle control by including a combination of motion and muscle activity signals in the operation of the BoMI.
In a current first-in-human study, called Stimulation Movement Overground (STIMO, NCT02936453), Epidural Electrical Stimulation (EES) of the spinal cord is applied to enable individuals with chronic 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 walking function, and that when applied repeatedly as part of a neurorehabilitation program, EES can improve leg motor control and trigger neurological recovery in individuals with severe SCI to a certain extent (Wagner et al. 2018). Preclinical studies showed that linking brain activity to the onset and modulation of spinal cord stimulation protocols not only improves the usability of the stimulation, but also augments neurological recovery. Indeed, rats rapidly learned to modulate their cortical activity in order to adjust the amplitude of spinal cord stimulation protocols. This brain-spine interface allowed them to increase the amplitude of the movement of their otherwise paralyzed legs to climb up a staircase (Bonizzato et al. 2018). Moreover, gait rehabilitation enabled by this brain-spine interface (BSI) augmented plasticity and neurological recovery. When EES was correlated with cortical neuron activity during training, rats showed better recovery than when training was only supported by continuous stimulation (Bonizzato et al. 2018). This concept of brain spine-interface was validated in non-human primates (Capogrosso et al. 2016). Clinatec (Grenoble, France) has developed a fully implantable electrocorticogram (ECoG) recording device with a 64-channel epidural electrode array capable of recording electrical signals from the motor cortex for an extended period of time and with a high signal to noise ratio the electrical signals from the motor cortex. This ECoG-based system allowed tetraplegic patients to control an exoskeleton (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02550522) with up to 8 degrees of freedom for the upper limb control (Benabid et al. 2019). This device was implanted in 2 individuals so far; one of them has been using this system both at the hospital and at home for more than 3 years. We hypothesize that ECoG-controlled EES in individuals with SCI will establish a direct bridge between the patient's motor intention and the spinal cord below the lesion, which will not only improve or restore voluntary control of leg movements, but will also boost neuroplasticity and neurological recovery when combined with neurorehabilitation.
This is a prospective, single-center, feasibility study to determine the sensations elicited by non-invasive abdominal electrical stimulation and its effects on bowel function in spinal cord injured individuals and in able-bodied persons with chronic constipation. Electrical stimulation will be delivered through commercially available equipment to each subject during a single site visit.
This study is a cross-sectional trial which aims to evaluate the effect of practicing a physical activity on different domains of the ICF among individuals with an acquired physical disability. Two different groups of individuals with a spinal cord injury will be enrolled: one composed of subjects who manage to reach the WHO's recommendations regarding physical activity, and the other of subjects who do not.