Active clinical trials for "Spinal Cord Injuries"

This is a preliminary study of the antihypertensive drug mecamylamine, used in the specific circumstance of hypertension caused by autonomic dysreflexia (AD), a condition that affects people with spinal cord injury (SCI). Initially, mild sensory stimulation of subjects' legs is used to intentionally provoke AD, as reflected by blood pressure elevation during such stimulation. In subsequent testing sessions, mecamylamine is given prior to sensory stimulation, to show the effect of the drug on preventing these AD-related blood pressure elevations.

The Active Powered Prosthesis (APEX) (AbiliTech Medical Inc., Minneapolis, MN) is a proof-of-concept shoulder-elbow-wrist device intended to provide non-invasive active powered robotic assistive movement to upper extremities. The objective of this study is to perform focus groups with users and clinicians to evaluate a proof of concept active powered assistance device.

The aim of the master's thesis is to evaluate the clinic-internal strengthening concept of the Swiss Paraplegic Centre (SPZ). The SPZ is a rehabilitation clinic for spinal cord injured people. The strengthening concept has been routinely used since 2015. By default, the patients complete - depending on which training phase they are in - three to four strength training sessions per week. As part of the master's thesis, the development of maximum strength of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) in primary rehabilitation will be studied. It is explicitly taken care of that the patients comply with the training requirements. Furthermore, factors which prevent a consistent buildup of strength - such as medical complications (pressure sores, pneumonia, urinary tract infections) - are systematically recorded. The findings should provide information on the effect and qualitative transfer of the existing strength concept in everyday clinical practice. The strength training performed is accompanied by the master student and documented in a standardized manner.

The goal of this module project is to establish the efficacy of a portable sensor and app-based biofeedback technology system for promoting effective pressure relief behaviors and reducing risk of pressure ulcer development among wheelchair users. In collaboration with the participating SCIMS centers, the investigators will conduct a randomized clinical trial of education and goal setting alone compared to education and goal setting combined with the biofeedback system (SENSIMAT®) that is commercially available.

Purpose: The objective of this study is to assess a newly created decision support intervention (DSI) or decision aid (DA) for people with spinal cord injury (SCI) to learn about and consider upper extremity reconstructive surgery to help them choose a course of treatment that most aligns with their values.

The subaxial cervical spine consists of levels C3 through C7 and includes both the bony anatomy as well as the ligamentous anatomy. Injuries to the subaxial cervical spine can be bony, discoligamentous or a combination of both (1). Cervical spine trauma is common resulting from high energy trauma such as falling from height and motor vehicle accident (2). Devastating sequelae of subaxial cervical spine trauma include quadriplegia, functional loss, and permanent disability

This study will apply novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to investigation of spinal cord injury (SCI) to learn how nerve fibers repair and neural cells regain ability to control muscle during the rehabilitation. The information gained will be helpful for physicians to make more accurate diagnosis of SCI, predict injury recovery and movement restoration, and develop more effective treatment plans.

There are over 44,000 persons living with spinal cord injury (SCI) in Canada, who face substantial challenges in maintaining a healthy body composition after injury. As a result, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease are prevalent in this population. Guidelines indicating that twice weekly 20-minute sessions of exercise (plus resistance training) will increase physical fitness in those with SCI have been recently published. However, no SCI-specific guidelines indicating the volume of exercise to reduce the risk of developing obesity-related diseases exist. Longitudinal studies indicate that a weekly exercise-related energy expenditure of 2000 - 2500 Calories is correlated with the least likelihood of cardiovascular disease in the able-bodied population. There is little information regarding energy expenditure (EE) for activities carried out by persons with SCI, with less available for persons with tetraplegia. Once known, this EE data can be used to develop exercise interventions to determine the volume of voluntary exercise required to reduce obesity and risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular disease in those living with tetraplegia.

The purpose of this research study is to demonstrate that individuals with upper limb paralysis due to spinal cord injury, brachial plexus injury, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and brain stem stroke can successfully achieve direct brain control of assistive devices using an electrocorticography (ECoG)-based brain computer interface system.

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.