Palliative Strategies in Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Spinal Cord Injury

Interventions: Device: Motorized bicycle exercise training

Registration Number: NCT00594178

Lead Sponsor: University of Arkansas

Brief Summary: Spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to muscle atrophy, hyperreflexia and spasticity, symptoms that decrease quality of life and prevent effective rehabilitation. Previous findings from our labs found that a passive cycling exercise program, motorized bicycle exercise training (MBET), in adult spinally transected animals reduced muscle atrophy and normalized hyperreflexia. We found that MBET could prevent the onset of hyperreflexia after spinal transaction, that MBET could also be used to rescue from hyperreflexia once it had set in, and that MBET could induce savings in normalization of reflexes after MBET ceased. We also demonstrated that MBET was effective in rescuing from hyperreflexia in a chronic ASIA B SCI patient, and that short-term MBET could lead to brief savings in normalization of reflexes once MBET ceased. The proposed studies will test the ability to MBET to prevent the onset of hyperreflexia in a group of acute SCI patients trained before hyperreflexia has had a chance to set in. In addition, the proposed research will attempt to confirm the possibility that long-term MBET in chronic SCI patients will rescue from hyperreflexia once it has set in, and also produce significant savings in normalization of reflexes if carried out for long periods of time. We will also test the possibility that MBET in acute and/or chronic SCI patients could reduce or prevent muscle atrophy. The experimental design calls for assessing muscle mass using MRI scans, bone density using Dual-Energy X-ray Absortiometry (DEXA) scans, spasticity measures and electrophysiological measurements to determine low frequency habituation of the H-reflex. Assessments will be carried out before MBET, during a 25 week MBET block of time, and during a 12 week post MBET monitoring period. Changes in muscle mass, bone density, spasticity scales and H-reflex habituation will be compared across these interventions and between treated SCI victims and a group of control acute and chronic SCI victims undergoing standard of care during the same period.

Detailed Description: Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 17

Inclusion Criteria

1. An incomplete spinal cord injury at a level of C4 to T12.
1. 18 to 70 years of age.

Exclusion Criteria

1. Joint contractures and/or spasticity that would hamper upright posture or use of MBET
1. A documented blood clot in the lower extremities
1. A history of lower extremity fractures (excludes randomization to the PWBT).
1. Pregnant women

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
A	Motorized bicycle exercise training	Exercise group

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Muscle Mass Via Dual-Energy X-ray Absortiometry (DEXA)Scan Data	baseline and 3 months	Lean muscle mass was measured with Dual-Energy X-ray Absortiometry (DEXA) scan, which uses low dose radiation to assess bone density and soft tissue density. pre and post, three month exercise protocol on a passivie motorized exercise bicycle.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Bone Density Via Dual-Energy X-ray Absortiometry (DEXA) Scan	baseline and 3 months Post-exercise	Bone mineral density was measured with Dual-Energy X-ray Absortiometry (DEXA) scan pre and post, three month exercise protocol on a passive motorized exercise bicycle.