Non-invasive Brain Stimulation Paired With FES Cycling Post SCI

Launched by WESTERN UNIVERSITY, CANADA · Aug 1, 2023

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying a new approach to help improve movement in the legs of people with incomplete spinal cord injuries. Researchers want to see how well a combination of two treatments—repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (which uses magnetic pulses to stimulate the brain) and Functional Electrical Stimulation Cycling (which uses electrical impulses to make muscles contract)—works together compared to each treatment used alone. This trial is currently looking for participants aged 65 to 74 who can walk independently for 10 meters and have had a spinal cord injury that is stable for at least a year.

To participate, you must be an adult with a specific type of incomplete spinal cord injury that affects your ability to move but allows you to walk without assistance. Some individuals may not be eligible if they have other serious health issues affecting their legs or have certain medical devices or conditions that may not be safe for these treatments. If you join the study, you can expect to receive either the combination treatment, one of the treatments alone, or a placebo, and you'll be helping researchers learn more about ways to improve mobility for others with similar injuries.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • adult
• • having motor incomplete SCI with level C or D on the American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) with the lesion at any level of the cord resulting from either traumatic or non-traumatic etiology who are at least one-year post-injury.
• • having non-progressive SCI
• • being able to walk independently for 10 meters without help from another person
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • other orthopedic or neurological implications that affect the lower extremity function
• • contraindications to FES (e.g., implanted electronic devices, unhealed bone fractures, sever contractures, extreme osteoporosis or osteoarthritis)
• • contraindications to rTMS (e.g., metal implants, history of seizure, cochlear implants)