Neural Plasticity and Motor Recovery After Upper Extremity Motor Training in People With c-SCI

Recruiting now · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Spinal Cord Injuries

In brief

After spinal cord injury (SCI), there is a disruption in neural circuits resulting in paralysis. There is not yet a cure for paralysis. In persons with Cervical SCI (pwC-SCI) recovery of arm-hand function is very important as it has a significant impact on the patients' level of independence and quality of life. Recovery is assumed to involve alterations in both central and peripheral motor systems. Motor training at an intensive dosage potentially provides a powerful stimulus for neurological recovery. This project exploits the peripheral and central neuroplastic effect of an early (\<13 weeks after injury) and intensive (8 weeks of 6 hours in addition to usual care) upper limb motor training program (EIUMT) directed at recovery below the level of the injury in pwC-SCI within an international multi-center randomized controlled trial including 44 pwC-SCI. It has 4 objectives: to investigate 1)central neural plasticity by identifying alterations in cortical neuroplasticity and corticospinal excitability; 2)peripheral neural plasticity by identifying alterations in axonal excitability and number of motor units; 3)behavioral motor recovery of upper limb and 4)relationships between dose dimensions of motor intervention and behavioral and neurophysiological outcome measures after EIUMT. Cutting-edge neurophysiological measures are used to provide insight in the mechanism of neuroplasticity after EIUMT and will be taken before and after EIUMT and at 6 months follow-up.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT06065384

Run by

Annemie Spooren

People needed

44

Starts

2024-10-09

Expected to finish

2027-08-28

Last updated by the study team

2025-12-12

Who can join

Age: 16 and older, up to 90. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Traumatic or non-traumatic C-SCI in the preceding 13 weeks; age over 16 years; have an incomplete SCI categorized as AIS C or D or an AIS A SCI with zones of partial motor paralysis (as defined by the International Standards for the Neurological Classification of SCI (ISNCI) and medically stable.

You may not qualify if…

• SCI with ASIA Impairment Scale (AIS) A without zones of partial preservation (decided based on former studies) and expertise of the team; SCI with any significant medical condition that could prevent the person from participating. Patients will be excluded from the measures of central plasticity in the presence of contraindications for TMS application such as epilepsy, metal implants in the brain, defibrillator, pacemaker, and pregnancy

Where it is running

• Revalidatieziekenhuis RevArte — Antwerp, Belgium (enrolling)
• UZGent — Ghent, Belgium (enrolling)
• Zorggroep Adelante — Hoensbroek, Netherlands (enrolling)
• UZLeuven Campus Pellenberg — Leuven, Belgium

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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