Treatment of Sleep Apnea in Patients with Cervical Spinal Cord Injury

Launched by JOHN D. DINGELL VA MEDICAL CENTER · Oct 3, 2016

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is looking at new ways to treat sleep apnea, a condition that causes people to have trouble breathing while they sleep, specifically in individuals who have suffered a cervical spinal cord injury (which affects the neck area). The study is for adults aged 18 to 89 who have had this type of injury for more than three months and are not using mechanical ventilation (a machine to help them breathe). They are aiming to find out how to help these patients breathe better during sleep and improve their overall health.

To participate in this trial, candidates must be healthy adults within the specified age range, and they should have a spinal cord injury that meets certain criteria. However, individuals who are very young, pregnant, or have serious health conditions affecting their heart, lungs, or kidneys, among others, will not be eligible. If chosen to participate, individuals will engage in assessments and treatments to help manage sleep apnea, and they will be monitored throughout the study to track any changes in their condition. This research is important as it may lead to better treatment options for those living with both spinal cord injuries and sleep apnea.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • 1. healthy adults between the ages of 18 - 89
• • 2. chronic spinal cord injury patients (T6 and above), \> 3 months since injury and not on mechanical ventilation, and have not received mechanical ventilation via tracheostomy in the past.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • 1. subjects ≤ 17 yrs old
• • 2. Pregnant and lactating females
• • 3. History of head trauma that resulted in neurological symptoms or loss of consciousness
• • 4. advanced heart, lung, metabolic, liver or chronic kidney disease.
• • 5. severe obstructive or restrictive respiratory defect by PFTs or history of tracheostomy
• • 6. extreme obesity defined for this protocol as BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2 (to avoid the effect of morbid obesity on ventilation).