Status:
RECRUITING
Motoneuron Recruitment and Motor Evoked Potential Up-Conditioning (MEP) in Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)
Lead Sponsor:
Medical University of South Carolina
Collaborating Sponsors:
Northwestern University
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Conditions:
Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders (SCI/D)
Spinal Cord Injury
Eligibility:
All Genders
18+ years
Phase:
NA
Brief Summary
The purpose of this research study is to examine the effect of a brain stimulation training to improve the function of brain-spinal cord- muscle connections. Because brain-to-muscle pathways are very ...
Detailed Description
Regaining arm/hand function is one of the top priorities of individuals with tetraplegia and is a challenging problem, partly due to the complex nature of upper limb motor function. Through mass pract...
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion
- Adult (≥18 yrs old)
- a history of injury to spinal cord at or above C6
- neurologically stable (\>1 year post SCI)
- medical clearance to participate
- weak wrist extension at least unilaterally
- expectation that current medication will be maintained without change for at least 3 months.
- Stable use of anti-spasticity medication (e.g., baclofen, diazepam, tizanidine) is accepted. (Because only neurologically stable subjects will enter this study, medication changes will be unlikely.)
- In participants with bilateral wrist extension weakness in whom Extensor Carpi Radialis (ECR) MEP can be elicited in both arms, the more severely impaired arm is studied. In participants with unilateral wrist weakness or in participants with bilateral wrist weakness in whom an ECR MEP can be elicited in only one arm, that arm is studied.
Exclusion
- motoneuron injury
- unstable medical condition
- cognitive impairment (because the studied intervention is a learning-based intervention)
- a history of epileptic seizures
- a pre-existing or confounding neurological condition (e.g., history of MS, Stroke, Parkinson's disease)
- metal implants in the cranium
- implanted biomedical device in or above the chest (e.g., a cardiac pacemaker, cochlear implant)
- no measurable MEP elicited in the ECR
- inability to produce any voluntary ECR EMG activity
- extensive use of functional electrical stimulation to the arm on a daily basis (as it may interfere with or augment the effects of MEP conditioning itself)
- pregnancy (due to changes in posture and potential medical instability)
- inability or unwillingness of subject or legal guardian/representative to give informed consent
Key Trial Info
Start Date :
November 3 2025
Trial Type :
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation :
ESTIMATED
End Date :
September 30 2027
Estimated Enrollment :
15 Patients enrolled
Trial Details
Trial ID
NCT07179822
Start Date
November 3 2025
End Date
September 30 2027
Last Update
November 26 2025
Active Locations (1)
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1
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina, United States, 29407