Using rTMS to improve motor function after 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

This study evaluates the effectiveness of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on patients with spinal cord injuries to enhance motor function. A total of 20 patients with low cervical or thoracic spinal cord injuries will be randomly assigned to receive either active rTMS or a placebo stimulation. The treatment involves 15 sessions of theta burst stimulation over three weeks, followed by a 12-week follow-up to assess improvements in motor function and pain levels. The goal is to determine the clinical relevance of rTMS for rehabilitation in this patient population.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

Inclusion Criteria:

* Age over 18 years and less than 80 years
* Chronic patients with an incomplete cervical and/or thoracic spinal cord injury (traumatic and non-traumatic) affecting upper and/or lower extremities (i.e., C4-T12 and classified as ASIA C or D) (Figure 138).
* Capable and willing to provide informed consent and able to adhere to the treatment schedule
* Patients who can be followed for the whole duration of the study

6.3 Exclusion criteria

* Contraindication to rTMS:

  * past severe head trauma
  * history of epilepsy or ongoing epilepsy
  * active cerebral tumor
  * intracranial hypertension
  * implanted ferromagnetic devices such as cardiac pacemaker and neurostimulator and cochlear implants
  * pregnancy or lactation.
* Any clinically significant or unstable medical or psychiatric disorder
* Other ongoing research protocol or recent past protocol within two months before the inclusion
* History of treatment with Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)
* Subjects protected by law (guardianship or tutelage measure)
* History of substance abuse (alcohol, drugs)
* Pending litigation
* Impossibility to understand the protocol or to fill out the forms
* Chronic use of sedative medication
* Participation in another clinical trial evaluating spinal cord injury

Where it's running

• Oslo University Hospital - Rikshospitalet
  Oslo, Norway, Norway Recruiting

Study contacts

• Study coordinator: Mark Züchner, MD, PhD
• Email: mark.zuchner@medisin.uio.no
• Phone: +47 23070000

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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.