The Feasibility and Effects of Low-load Blood-flow Restricted Exercise Following Spinal Cord Injury...
Spinal Cord InjuriesSpinal cord injury (SCI): The World Health Organization estimates an incidence of 250,000 to 500,000 per year worldwide. In Denmark 130 new cases of SCI per year. SCI is a devastating condition: paresis/paralysis of the skeletal muscles below the injury site, partial or complete inability to walk, move and/or feel. Other sequelae are: infections, lifestyle diseases (cardiovascular, diabetes, nephrologic disease), mental wellbeing/suicide-risk profoundly raised , quality of life, next-of-kin affection. Recovery of motor function is high clinical priority and crucial for improved ADL outcomes. Strength training regimens have shown improved muscle strength in healthy subjects using near-maximal voluntary effort contractions, and few studies have demonstrated similar effects in a SCI population. Atrophy and fatigability and spasticity may reduce practical implementation for rehabilitation. Therefore, low-load blood-flow restricted exercise (BFRE) may prove beneficial as supplement to traditional rehabilitation, increasing muscle strength and inducing hypertrophy in healthy persons. BFRE is performed as low-intensity strength training (20-30 % of max) while simultaneously involving the use of circumferential placement of cuffs during exercise, to maintain arterial inflow to the muscle while preventing venous return. Based on existing scientific evidence, BFRE is acknowledged as a safe regime without serious side effects. Previously, the method has shown increased muscle strength and inducing skeletal muscle hypertrophy in addition to improvement in gait performance in individuals with various diseases causing reduced mobility. Purposes of this PhD project: to investigate the feasibility and effects of BFRE in individuals living with the consequences of SCI.
Telepsychology in Spinal Cord Injury
Spinal Cord InjuriesDepressionThis study will determine the effectiveness of tele-psychology in treating persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) with depressed mood in the early period post-rehabilitation discharge. Depression among individuals with SCI is the most common psychological condition following an injury; 22% of civilians with SCI and 28% of veterans with SCI experience depression after injury, which is higher than the able-bodied population (Williams 2015; Ullrich 2014). Individuals with SCI face many barriers in receiving psychotherapy, such as lack of accessible transportation, unfamiliarity with community resources, or stigma associated with seeking treatment for depression, which this project aims to address. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), which helps people develop different ways of thinking and behaving to reduce their psychological distress, will be provided via iPad FaceTime by a psychologist with expertise in working with persons with SCI. The objectives of the proposed project are to reduce depressive symptoms, decrease associated symptoms of anxiety, and to improve satisfaction with life with CBT provided via tele-psychology. The secondary objective is to show intermediate efficacy of tele-psychology in persons with SCI with depressed mood.
tDCS in Pediatric Acquired Brain Injury
Acquired Brain InjuryDisorders of ConsciousnessIn this preliminary study, we will examine the safety, tolerability, and feasibility of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), in the setting of dosage escalation, as a candidate intervention for children with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI).
Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Compared to Traditional Care After Skin Grafting
Wound of SkinWound Heal5 moreThe aim of this study is to compare negative pressure wound therapy to traditional care after split-thickness skin grafting in patients aged over 18.
Comparing Wound Complications After Elective Abdominal Surgery Using Two Closure Techniques
Wound ComplicationWound complications, increased hospital stays and post-operative morbidity are all common following abdominal surgery. Abdominal closure complications are strongly associated with the closure technique and material used. The traditional closure technique used by surgeons is placing the wide and large stitches. A randomized controlled trial done in Sweden described a new closure technique in surgeries by placing the stitches closer to each other by using narrow. The results showed lower incidence of wound infections, hernias, and wound rupture. However, the study provides low quality evidence on the benefits of this new technique since it has numerous limitations like lack of standardization of suture size, lack of proper randomization, and heterogeneity in patient eligibility which will increase result bias. There is still a need for quality evidence on the effectiveness of this new closing technique procedure at decreasing wound complications after the operation. In this trial the investigators will compare two techniques in the closure of abdominal wounds in patients undergoing abdominal surgery. The first technique will be the traditional closure technique currently used in abdominal surgery. The second technique will be using the new closure technique. The closure of abdominal wounds with small and close sutures using the new technique is expected to lower the incidence of hernia and wound complications as well as improve the quality of life of the patient. Potential candidates for the study are those who will be undergoing elective midline laparotomy at AUBMC. The patients and assessor of outcomes will be blinded and patients will be randomized to receive either the traditional or new closure operation technique. There are no anticipated risks for those participating in the study. All data and information collected will be kept confidential. Hypothesis: Closure of abdominal fascia in elective midline laparotomy incisions with small and close sutures compared to closure with conventional wide and distant sutures results in lower rates of wound rupture, incisional hernia, and wound infection, and improved quality of life. Significance: The results of this study will allow surgeons to assess the role of a new abdominal closure technique in decreasing short and long term postoperative complications, for a commonly performed procedure. This trial will generate evidence-based conclusions.
Muscle O2 Saturation and Hemoglobin Levels During Rehabilitation From Arthroscopic Surgery
ACL InjuryHip InjuriesThis study will utilize the Moxy wearable sensor to measure muscle oxygen saturation levels in athletes following lower extremity surgery (ACL or Hip arthroscopy) to evaluate their Return-to-Play. The acquired data will complement current protocols utilized by Dr. Voos and Dr. Salata in this regard and will add quantifiable evidence to enable a robust measurement of the surgical limb versus non-surgical limb.
Neuropathic Pain and Operant Conditioning of Cutaneous Reflexes After SCI
Spinal Cord InjuriesNeuropathic Pain2 moreThe purpose of the second part of the study is to examine the effect of reflex training in the leg to decrease neuropathic pain. For this, the researchers are recruiting 15 individuals with neuropathic pain due to spinal cord injury to participate in the reflex training procedure. The study involves approximately 50 visits with a total study duration of about 6.5 months (3 months for baseline and training phases followed by 1 month and 3 month follow-up visits).
Assessment of the Safety and Performance of an Elbow Brace in the Prevention of Injuries During...
EpicondylitisTendonitis Elbow1 moreDecathlon has developed the Elbow soft300 which is a medical device that must be positioned around the elbow to keep a physical activity on a regular basis in case of chronic epicondylitis, pain associated with tendonitis or chronic instability. The objective of this multicentre study is to collect data on the related clinical complications and clinical outcomes of market-approved Decathlon Elbow soft 300 product to demonstrate safety and performance of this device in a real-world setting. Outcome data collected from this study will provide the basis for Post-Market Surveillance (PMS) reporting, Clinical Study Report (CSR), Clinical Evaluation Report (CER) on Decathlon ElbowSoft300 device and support peer-reviewed publications on products performance and safety.
Study to Evaluate the Safety and Pharmacokinetics of ALMB-0166 in Patients With Acute Spinal Cord...
Acute Spinal Cord InjuryThe purpose of this study is to assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of ALMB-0166 in patients with acute spinal cord injury.
A Randomized Trial of ImpACT+, a Coping Intervention for HIV Infected Women With Sexual Trauma in...
HIVTrauma ExposureImpACT+ (Improving AIDS Care after Trauma+), is an individual-level coping intervention to address traumatic stress and HIV care engagement among South African women with sexual trauma histories. We propose a full-scale randomized controlled trial to examine the effect of ImpACT+ on clinical outcomes in the period after ART initiation and to understand mental health and behavioral mechanisms through which viral suppression can be achieved. ImpACT+ will target women who are initiating ART in order to take advantage of a window of opportunity in HIV care and maximize care engagement. The aims are to test the effectiveness of ImpACT+ and explore its potential for implementation.