Paired Stimulation to Help Motor Recovery in Adults With and Without Spinal Cord Injury

Is this trial a fit for you?

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

The trial explores how aging and spinal cord injury affect the transmission and plasticity of corticospinal and reticulospinal pathways involved in leg movement. It includes two experiments: one compares tract transmission to leg muscles in older adults with and without SCI, and the other evaluates the body’s ability to strengthen nerve pathways for movement. The study uses paired stimulation of the corticospinal and reticulospinal tracts (PAS) with sham controls to see differential effects by age and SCI status. Adults aged 19–85, both with chronic SCI and healthy controls, may participate if they can perform basic leg movements and tolerate standing. Conducted at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab with NICHD collaboration, the trial seeks to clarify pathway-specific plasticity in motor control.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

Inclusion Criteria:

* Male and females between 19-85 years;
* Chronic SCI (≥ 1 years post-injury);
* T10 or above - American Spinal Injury Association (AIS) Grade C, or D;
* Ability to perform a small voluntary ankle dorsiflexion, knee extension, and ankle plantarflexion (as detected by presence of voluntary EMG activity in the rectus femoris, tibialis anterior, and soleus muscles) with at least one leg;
* Ability to tolerate standing position;
* Ability to initiate at least one step without the assistance of a therapist;
* If ambulatory, ability to walk at a minimum speed of 0.1 m/s on a treadmill. Inclusion criteria for controls:
* Male and females (19-85 years);
* Able to perform dorsiflexion;
* Able to walk.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Uncontrolled medical problems including pulmonary, cardiovascular, or orthopedic disease;
* Any debilitating disease before the SCI that caused exercise intolerance;
* Premorbid, ongoing major depression or psychosis, altered cognitive status;
* History of head injury or stroke;
* Pacemaker;
* Metal plate in skull;
* History of seizures;
* Receiving drugs acting primarily on the central nervous system, which lower the seizure threshold, such as antipsychotic drugs (chlorpromazine, clozapine) or tricyclic antidepressants;
* Pregnancy;
* Ongoing cord compression or a syrinx in the spinal cord or spinal cord disease, such as spinal stenosis, spina bifida or herniated cervical disk;
* implanted defibrillators or implanted neurostimulators;
* have large ischaemic scars;
* diagnosed sleep deprivation.

Exclusion criteria for controls:

\- Same as for subjects with SCI.

Where it's running

• Shirley Ryan Abilitylab
  Chicago, Illinois, United States Recruiting

Study contacts

• Study coordinator: Monica Perez
• Email: mperez04@sralab.org
• Phone: 312-238-2886

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How to take part

1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.