View clinical trials related to Spinal Cord Injury.
Filter by:The goal of the study is to examine the effects of repeated breathing episodes of mild intermittent hypoxia (reduced oxygen) training on hand strength and grasping ability following cervical spinal injury, and to determine whether these changes result in improved hand function. If so, such changes may indicate hypoxia-induced spinal plasticity (ability of the nervous system to strengthen neural pathways based on new experiences), which could result in improvements in hand use for persons with spinal cord injury (SCI).
Background: People with spinal cord injury (SCI) are at risk for many health conditions, some of which can be decreased with exercise. Cycling with Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) is one way to obtain exercise after SCI. However, cycling with FES has only been done one way, which involves pedaling more quickly with less force to work against. Pedaling more slowly would allow the person to work against more force, which may lead to greater improvements in bone mineral density and muscle size. It may also lead to greater changes in bone make-up, body fat, and cholesterol levels. All of these improvements may lead to a decrease in bone fractures and cardiovascular disease, two major medical issues that exist in the SCI population. Study Aims: This study will compare the outcomes on bone, muscle and cardiovascular health between the commonly used method of pedaling more quickly to a new method of pedaling more slowly. Both groups will work against the maximal force possible. It is expected that the group pedaling more slowly will work against greater force and thus will have improved outcomes compared to other group pedaling faster. Methods: Twenty people with SCI, ages 18-65 years, will be randomly assigned to a treatment group and will participate in three 60-minute sessions per week for 6 months at an outpatient rehabilitation center. All subjects must have complete paralysis of both legs, but may have sensation preserved. Before and after 6 months of exercise, subjects will have an MRI scan to assess muscle size and bone, a dexascan to assess bone, a strength test using electrical stimulation to assess muscle force, an analysis of fat free body tissue, and lab work to measure cholesterol, bone factors that provide insight into bone change, and nutritional status. Relevance: If the protocol of pedaling more slowly results in greater improvements, this technique can be applied to clinical practice. Some people with SCI have FES cycles in their homes and many have been cycling for many years. This new technique may allow them to obtain more benefits than what they currently are receiving from FES cycling. In addition, it is important to maintain overall bone, muscle and cardiovascular health so that people with SCI are health and ready when spinal cord regeneration becomes clinically available.
Spinal cord injury (SCI) usually affects young people and causes severe bowel and bladder dysfunction. Recently, the concept of a surgically created somat-sensory reflex arch for bladder dysfunction in SCI has been introduced. The concept is promising, not just for bladder but also for bowel dysfunction. However, well designed studies need to be performed before recommending the procedure to a large number of patients worldwide. In this study we perform multidisciplinary studies providing necessary information about the clinical outcome of the somato-sensory reflex arch in adult SCI patients. The hypothesis is as follows: 1. In a "western setting" the somato-sensory reflex arch can be created in adult SCI patients with only minor morbidity and complications. 2. Somato-sensory reflex arch reduces bladder and bowel symptoms in SCI patients.
The study is a multi-centre, assessor-blind, randomised controlled phase III trial in patients with with complete or incomplete spinal cord injury between C6 and T12. A total of 188 participants will be randomised into two groups, the experimental group and the control group. The control group participants will receive an upper body strength and fitness program, conducted for 2-3 hours, three times per week for 12 weeks, while the experimental group participants will receive a comprehensive full body exercise program, conducted for 2-3 hours, three times per week for 12 weeks. The main objective of this study is to determine if the experimental exercise program is more effective than the upper body strength and fitness program in promoting neurological improvement in participants with spinal cord injury. Total study duration is 3.5 years, including a 24 month recruitment period, a 12-week treatment period followed by 6 month and 12 month (from baseline) follow up assessments. Participants will be assessed by a blinded assessor (the assessor will not know which group the participants are in) using standard physiotherapy, neurophysiological, fitness and functional tests, psychological and quality of life questionnaires, as well as tests of immune function and bone structure.
Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in marked acute loss of bone. This study evaluates the effect of teriparatide (PTH) and the use of vibration as a form of mechanical stimulation on bone mass.
This research is being done to study the effect of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) cycling on factors in blood and spinal cord in people with spinal cord injury (SCI).
The purpose of the study is to evaluate the safety of GRNOPC1 administered at a single time-point between 7 and 14 days post injury, inclusive, to patients with neurologically complete spinal cord injuries (SCI).
The purpose of this study is to develop and field-test new tools for diagnosis and hazard assessment of cardiometabolic risk (CMR) in people with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) and to advance the evidence base with much needed information on CMR and cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden in people with SCI. These data can be used to develop screening guidelines for early identification and prevention of CMR in SCI, as well as targeted approaches to primary disease management.
The specific aims of this study are: 1) to assess the test-retest reliability of a modification of an existing wheelchair propulsion assessment and 2) validate the modification against traditional measures of physical strength, power, and endurance in a group of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI).
This hypothesis-driven study will investigate effects of physical activity with or without a nutrient supplement known to increase body lean mass in adults with chronic paraplegia who have clusters of obesity and obesity-related secondary complications.