NCT03645122

Spinal Plasticity to Enhance Motor Retraining After Stroke

Plasticity in the Spinal Cord to Enhance Motor Retraining After Stroke

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 23 (actual)
• Sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development · Federal
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 75 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The objective of this project is to study the effects of an emerging noninvasive neuromodulation strategy in human stroke survivors with movement-related disability. Muscle weakness after stroke results from the abnormal interaction between cells in the brain that send commands to control movement and cells in the spinal cord that cause muscles to produce movement. The neuromodulation strategy central to this project has been shown the strengthen the physical connection between both cells, producing a change in movement potential of muscles weakened by stroke.

Detailed description

Stroke is a leading cause of serious long-term disability in the United States with 795,000 individuals suffering a new or recurrent stroke each year. In most cases, disability is associated with incomplete motor recovery of the paretic limb. Full recovery is often not achieved, creating a need for neuromodulation strategies that target the physiological mechanisms impaired by stroke to fully harness the adaptive capacity of the nervous system. The neuromodulation protocol that will be tested in these experiments will target connections between the brain and spinal cord with noninvasive stimulation to enhance movement potential of the hand. Individuals who experienced a single stroke at least 6 months ago may be eligible to participate.

Conditions

• Stroke
• Cerebrovascular Accident
• Hemiparesis

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Paired corticospinal-motoneuronal stimulation (PCMS)	Synapses in the spinal cord that transmit voluntary movement commands from the brain to hand muscles will be activated by noninvasive stimulation in a particular sequence and interval that has been shown to strengthen connectivity.
OTHER	Sham stimulation	Synapses in the spinal cord that transmit voluntary movement commands from the brain to hand muscles will not be activated by noninvasive stimulation in a particular sequence and interval that has been shown to strengthen connectivity.

Timeline

• Start date: 2019-02-04
• Primary completion: 2023-09-29
• Completion: 2023-12-29
• First posted: 2018-08-24
• Last updated: 2024-09-19
• Results posted: 2024-09-19

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States