NCT07504055

Non-invasive Spinal Cord Stimulation and Blood Pressure Regulation After Spinal Cord Injury

Effectiveness of Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation on Blood Pressure Regulation in Individuals With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury

• Status: Not Yet Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 40 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of Louisville · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if non-invasive spinal cord stimulation intervention improves blood pressure regulation in individuals with chronic spinal cord injury. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Can site specific spinal cord stimulation enhance blood pressure regulation? * Does this stimulation affect enzymes responsible for blood pressure regulation? Researchers will stimulate different sites of spinal cord and compare to see if site-specific stimulation provide blood pressure stability. Participants will have up to six pairs of self-adhesive conductive electrodes placed on the skin over the spinal cord (midline and/or just to the left and right of midline) as cathodes and up to six pairs of self-adhesive electrodes located symmetrically on the skin over the iliac crests, clavicles, shoulders, and/or abdominal muscles (left and right of the umbilicus) as anodes for stimulation of the spinal cord.

Detailed description

This study introduces a novel mechanistic framework for treating and understanding autonomic regulation of blood pressure in SCI. The central hypothesis is that targeted specific scTS will restore cardiovascular homeostasis by strengthening complex neurohormonal pathways of blood pressure control. We expect that changes in these physiological and biochemical parameters will translate into greater cardiovascular stability, reduced frequency and severity of hypotensive and hypertensive episodes, and enhanced quality of life for individuals with SCI in individuals with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) at the neurological level T1 and above, and more than one year after injury. The study team will recruit up to forty participants with the goal of fifteen participants to complete study interventions and assessments through the second follow-up visit. After recruitment and screening, primary and secondary outcome measures will be obtained at the following time points: 1) Pre-intervention (inclusive of randomization and mapping), 2) Session 20, 3) Mid-Intervention, 4) Session 60, 5) post-intervention, 6) 1st Follow-Up (8 weeks after post-intervention), and 7) 2nd Follow-Up (16 weeks after post-intervention). Participants will be asked to complete eighty sessions over a 16 to 20-week period, delivered 4 to 5 days per week for one hour each day. The stimulation will be delivered with frequency of up to 100 Hz, with incrementally increased intensity up to 200 mA to the participant for 80 sessions 1 hour long spanning 16 to 20 weeks.

Conditions

• Spinal Cord Injury
• Orthostatic Hypertension
• Autonomic Dysreflexia

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Spinal Cord Transcutaneous Stimulation	Spinal Cord Transcutaneous Stimulation (scTS) will be administered using the Biostim/Neostim (Cosyma Inc., Denver CO) device. Up to six pairs of self-adhesive conductive electrodes will be placed on the skin over the spinal cord (midline and/or just to the left and right of midline) as cathodes and up to six pairs of self-adhesive electrodes located symmetrically on the skin over the iliac crests, clavicles, shoulders, and/or abdominal muscles (left and right of the umbilicus) as anodes. During scTS mapping sessions, stimulation will be provided to assess the impact on functional outcomes and to refine stimulation parameters for training (e.g., blood pressure modulation, respiratory function) targeted for each arm. Using multi-variant combinations of electrode locations and different electrical configurations, the stimulation will be delivered at a level specific to each arm with frequency of up to 100 Hz, with incrementally increased intensity up to 200 mA.

Timeline

• Start date: 2026-03-01
• Primary completion: 2029-02-01
• Completion: 2029-02-01
• First posted: 2026-03-31
• Last updated: 2026-03-31

Locations

2 sites across 1 country: United States

Regulatory

• FDA-regulated device study