Active clinical trials for "Spinal Cord Injuries"

This study will assess the feasibility and efficacy of 3 treatments to increase physical activity during and after inpatient rehabilitation (IPR) for new spinal cord injuries: Program of sprint interval training (SIT) on an arm crank ergometer during IPR SIT + Provision of an arm ergometer (ERGO) for home use SIT + ERGO for home use + Motivational interviewing to increase adherence to exercise during and after IPR. The primary outcome is minutes per week of moderate to vigorous physical activity at 6 months after IPR discharge. Secondary outcomes include peak power on the 6-Minute Arm Test at IPR discharge and self-reported physical activity, depression, fatigue, pain, community participation, and quality of life at 6 months after IPR discharge. The investigators will obtain data on feasibility, acceptability, and perceived benefits of the treatments from stakeholders. The results of this pilot study will inform the design of a larger randomized trial.

The purpose of this research is to assess the effectiveness of a nutrition education program in increasing nutrition knowledge and improving health-related biomarkers in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI).

People with a spinal cord injury (SCI) often experience secondary medical complications. One of the methods that may help to prevent or deal with secondary complications in people with SCI is the Wim Hof Method (WHM). The WHM is based on three elements: 1) breathing exercises, 2) gradual cold exposure (cold showers, or cold water immersion), and 3) mindset. The primary objective of this randomized controlled trial is to assess the effects of WHM, involving breathing exercises, mindset (and cold exposure), on health-related quality of life in people with SCI. The secondary objectives are to assess the effects of WHM, involving breathing exercises, mindset (and cold exposure) in people with SCI on: inflammation markers, metabolic health, pulmonary function, body composition, sleep quality, spasticity, stress, and on chronic pain.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), a common disorder resulting from repetitive pharyngeal collapse during sleep, is multifactorial. Usually, OSA is considered primarily a problem of upper airway anatomy, with the craniofacial structure or neck fat decreasing the size of the pharyngeal airway lumen. Obesity, male sex and genetics are well established pathogenic factors. In the last decade rostral fluid displacement (fluid shift) to explain the pathogenesis of upper airway collapsibility has been increasingly studied. Individuals living with spinal cord injury are at increased risk for OSA, with a prevalence that is three- to fourfold higher than the general population. Individual with acute tetraplegia and undiagnosed or untreated OSA may participate less in rehabilitation due to sleepiness and fatigue and therefore be less engaged in activities that improve quality of life and maintain functioning over time. Intermittent hypoxia, sleep fragmentation and alterations of the autonomous nervous system induced by OSA are thought to delay or limit recovery and in the long term, increase cardio- and cerebrovascular morbi-mortality. Redolfi et al have shown that overnight change in leg fluid volume correlated strongly with the Apnea Hypopnea index (AHI) and the time spent sitting. In SCI patients two mechanisms may underline fluid shift importance in the pathogenesis of OSA: first, time spent sitting is obviously increased in patients with no walking abilities (prolonged sitting position in wheelchair). Secondly, motor deficit lead to the loss of skeletal muscle pumping activity which could promote leg fluid accumulation during the day. In our knowledge, no study has specifically assessed the impact of rostral fluid displacement on upper airway collapsibility among patients with spinal cord injury. Better comprehension of upper airway collapsibility determinants in patients with spinal cord injury is mandatory to identify new therapeutic targets (diuretics, contention…) especially since CPAP, the first line treatment for severe OSA, continue to pose adherence issues in SCI patients. In the future, phenotyping OSA patients, especially those with SCI, will improve personalized management. The main objective is to find if there is a correlation between the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and rostral fluid shift overnight, in non-obese spinal cord injured patients. The secondary aim is to find if there is a correlation between AHI and: Neck circumference Neck volume Time spent sitting down

The purpose of this study is to determine if bladder emptying can be achieved using stimulation of the sacral roots at certain frequencies. Neurogenic bladder dysfunction occurs after spinal cord injury (SCI). It is a problem that often includes detrusor-sphincter-dyssynergia (DSD), which results in difficulty emptying the bladder due to reflex urethral sphincter contractions during bladder emptying. Individuals with DSD typically require a catheter to empty their bladder. Some people have received an implanted device that stimulates the spinal nerves that connect to the bladder to empty the bladder without a catheter. However, this procedure usually also includes cutting nerves to stop unwanted reflexes. For this study, the investigators are testing a new stimulation pattern to determine if it can help achieve bladder emptying without having to cut nerves. Individuals with SCI who have received an implanted sacral root stimulation device are being asked to participate in this research to test the effectiveness of electrical stimulation to relax the urethral sphincter and promote bladder emptying.

This is the first ever comparative effectiveness study of an antibiotic-sparing novel self-management intervention to prevent complicated urinary tract infection (UTI).

The investigator's overall goal is to develop new strategies to test optimization of Spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) doses to maximize strategy to restore upper and lower-limb motor function in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). The investigator proposes to use modern electrophysiological methods to enhance the efficacy of residual corticospinal connections. Defining the neural basis by which corticospinal volleys generate muscle responses will provide crucial information required to maximize residual motor output. The investigator's specific goals are to: 1) determine the temporal and spatial organization of corticospinal volleys and motor cortical representations of upper-limb muscles after incomplete cervical SCI and 2) develop methodologies to promote recovery of function. The investigator's focus on reach and grasp movements because of their importance in daily life activities.

Most patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) develop neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD), one of the most devastating sequelae of SCI which ultimately can lead to renal failure. We urgently need an intervention that prevents NLUTD before irreversible damage occurs. Neuromodulation procedures are a promising avenue so that we investigate the effect of transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS) in patients with acute SCI. This nationwide randomized, sham-controlled, double-blind multicentre clinical trial includes all SCI centres in Switzerland (Basel, Nottwil, Sion, Zürich). Patients are randomly assigned to VERUM TTNS (active stimulation, n=57) and SHAM stimulation (n=57) groups in a 1:1 allocation using computer-generated permuted block randomisation lists stratified on study centre and lower extremity motor score. Daily 30-minute sessions are performed five times a week during an intervention period of 6-9 weeks. The primary outcome of this study is the success of TTNS to prevent neurogenic DO jeopardizing the upper urinary tract, assessed by urodynamics at 1 year after SCI or any earlier time point if DO treatment is necessary (study end). Secondary outcome measures are bladder diary parameters, clinical symptom scores assessed by standardized and validated questionnaires. Furthermore, neurophysiological and neuroimaging outcome measures are assessed as well as, biochemical and molecular changes. Tertiary outcome measure is the safety of TTNS. Before the actual start of the TASCI RCT, start-up activities will include a piloting phase on groups of healthy volunteers and patients. The goal during this phase is to evaluate the feasibility of the experimental setup, in particular for the TTNS and SHAM intervention, but also to test the setup of the different pre and post assessments (e.g. neurophysiology and neuroimaging tests). Groups of up to 15 participants each will be enrolled in a few consecutive pilot studies allowing for fine tuning and small adaptations in between, if appropriate.

Spasticity - a variety of motor over-activity and part of the upper motor neuron syndrome - is a common cause of impaired motor function after brain injuries of different etiologies. In addition, it may cause pain and impaired hygiene, contractures, deformities etc. Spasticity has been reported in 30 to 90% of patients with stroke, traumatic brain injury (TBI), incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI) and cerebral palsy (CP). Spasticity therapy has emerged as an important approach to alleviate related symptoms. Positive effects on spasticity are well recognized following systemic and intra-thecal pharmacological treatment, as well as after intra-muscularly injected substances; the effect of the latter is, however, of limited duration. While pharmacological spasticity therapy has been applied for decades, surgical procedures remain fairly uncommon in adults with spasticity, but not in pediatric patients with CP, and outcomes after surgical treatment are scarcely described in the literature. The study center is a specialized unit initially focused on reconstructive as well as spasticity reducing surgery in the upper extremities for SCI patients. Subsequently, patients with spasticity also due to various other Central nervous system diseases have been referred to the center for surgical treatment. Studies describing the effect of spasticity-reducing surgery in the upper extremities are rare and the group is heterogeneous. The aim of the study is therefore to evaluate the results and compare against todays golden standard treatment (boutuliniumtoxin injections).

The purpose of this study is to find out if taking the drug Buspar will increase breathing capacity in individuals with spinal cord injuries.