Active clinical trials for "Spinal Cord Diseases"

The purpose of this study is to assess the validity and reproducibility of the MP Diagnostics HTLV Blot 2.4 in blood specimens testing repeat reactive (RR) on the first FDA licensed screening assay (Abbott Prism) and non-reactive (NR) on the second FDA licensed screening assay (Avioq ELISA).

The investigators propose a prospective study, designed to analyze the efficacy of High-Resolution Diffusion Tensor Imaging for accurately sensing white matter tracts in subjects with spinal cord injury. Study subjects will not be randomized, as treatment will follow the doctor's "standard of care." Patients will be selected and offered enrollment based upon the clinical diagnosis of spinal cord injury, either due to degenerative disease or trauma. Enrollment will be based on the chronology of patient presentation.

Arteriovenous malformations (AVM) are abnormally formed blood vessels that can be located throughout the brain and spinal cord. Patients with abnormalities of the blood vessels located in and around the spinal cord can develop many neurological problems. Some problems include, weakness, pain, difficulty walking, paralysis, and even death. The treatment for these AVMs depends on their location, the type of malformation, the area of the spine involved, and the condition of the patient at the time of treatment. The treatment is aimed at stopping the neurologic problems from worsening and possibly correcting the existing problems. There are two commonly used treatments for AVMs, surgery and embolization (blocking off of blood flow to the AVM). However, researchers have limited experience treating these conditions because they are rare. In addition, it has been difficult to classify different kinds of AVMs and to develop new treatments for them. This study is designed to increase researchers understanding of AVMs by admitting and following patients diagnosed with the condition. By increasing the amount of patients studied diagnosed with spinal blood vessel abnormalities, researchers can begin to develop new management plans for patients with AVMs.

A multi-center, prospective, observational patient registry to collect information on the clinical outcomes and "real world" use of approved and commercially available bone graft substitutes, autograft and allograft.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of cervical decompression surgery on the biomechanics of the lower extremities and spine during balance and gait in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM), before and after surgical intervention, and compare these parameters to an asymptomatic control group. To test our hypothesis that cervical decompression will improve preexisting gait disturbance, a gait analysis using dynamic surface EMG, video motion capture, and force plate analysis will be used. Patients 30 to 70 years old will be eligible for the study. Thirty subjects diagnosed with symptomatic CSM and are deemed appropriate surgical candidates, along with 30 healthy subjects with no spine pathology, will be enrolled in this study. Exclusion criteria include any history of previous lumbar/thoracic surgery or lower extremity surgery, BMI greater than 35, or currently pregnant. Each subject from the surgical group will be evaluated on 3 different occasions: 1) 1 week before surgery, 2) 3 months postoperative, and 3) 12 months postoperative. Control subject will only be evaluated once. Bilateral trunk and lower extremity neuromuscular activity will be measured during a full gait cycle using dynamic surface EMG measurements. Human video motion capture cameras will collect lumbar spine and lower and upper extremity joint angles. Ground reaction forces (GRFs) will be collected from a 5 foot stretch of force platforms in order to define a full gait cycle.

This study seeks to evaluate the efficacy of nerve transfers in restoring hand function in patients with cervical spinal injuries.

Introduction: Giant thoracic disc herniation is a rare condition for which surgical treatment is indicated when there are signs of spinal cord injury. To date, several surgical techniques have been described in the treatment of this condition on small patient series. The main objective is to evaluate the long-term results of a series of 53 patients treated with a minimally invasive endoscopic procedure. The secondary objective is to explain our pre-operative planning and the technical details of our procedure. METHOD: Retrospective monocentric study on a cohort of patients treated in our department. The following medical data from our database are analyzed: Morbidity of operative gesture (duration of procedure, bleeding, postoperative complications), clinical results at the last follow-up visit (thoracic Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score, Frankel score, parietal pain , ability to walk, wish to carry out the same intervention again if necessary). On the radiological level, we evaluated the quality of the resection (total, subtotal, incomplete and impossible), the reappearance of a border of cerebrospinal fluid perimedullary and the presence of an intramedullary T2 hyperintense signal MRI post- operative. All these data are collected and analyzed anonymously. Expected Results: We believe we can demonstrate that thoracoscopy is a valid therapeutic option in the treatment of thoracic disc herniation responsible for spinal cord compression. This with a low morbidity given the minimally invasive nature of the approach.

This study aims to quantify the clumsiness and decreased dexterity seen in the grip and release test using a simple glove with sensors that can quantify the abnormal motion of this classical sign. This new tool will give a mechanistic insight into the myelopathy. The findings of this study will also form the basis of a prospective longitudinal study with clinical and radiological evaluation to compare the prognosticating value of this new information in clinical practice.

The purpose of this research study is to examine whether computer based or virtual reality based driving assessments are as useful as real-world power wheelchair driving tests in measuring driving performance and whether they may be useful in helping to identify the problems that some individuals may have with driving power wheelchairs. The specific aims are as follows: Specific Aim 1: To develop computer-based and VR-based wheelchair driving assessments for both drivers and non-drivers that correspond to an accepted real-world driving assessment (Power Mobility Road Test) and compare them to the real-world assessment and to each other. Specific Aim 2: To develop additional features of the computer-based and VR-based assessments that present dynamic tasks and determine whether skills on these tasks can be delineated within the virtual environment.

Acute spontaneous Spinal Cord Infarctions (SCI) are an uncommon cause of myelopathy (5%), but their prognostic is heterogeneous and frequently severe. Positive diagnosis is difficult, one quarter of initial MRIs are normal. Differential diagnosis with other transverse myelopathy causes is a common issue. As in cerebral stroke, there are multiple causes and mechanisms in spontaneous SCI, often difficult to clearly establish. There are also clinical and radiological patterns, sometimes misleading, according to vascular territory and its expanse. Due to its scarcity and heterogeneity, improving knowledge and medical care remains difficult. Medical care is still badly codified in medical literature. Recently, diagnostic criteria have been proposed to better identify SCI, provide earlier care and homogenize future research. External validity and reproduction of these new criteria among acute myelopathies are still to be validated. While there is no established medical treatment in the initial care of spontaneous SCI, some case reports show successful treatment with IV thrombolysis. Given the severe prognosis, conventional treatment of strokes (thrombolysis, anticoagulant and antiplatelet), could be considered on an individual scale, in a specific protocol. A better knowledge of radio-clinical and security factors are necessary to support this approach. In order to respond to these difficulties, a retrospective cohort will allow us to better define epidemiological, clinico-radiological and prognostic features of spontaneous SCI. It lays the foundation of a possible prospective multicentric cohort, necessary for specific therapeutic studies.