scholarly journals The role of electrical stimulation for rehabilitation and regeneration after spinal cord injury

2022 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian A. Karamian ◽  
Nicholas Siegel ◽  
Blake Nourie ◽  
Mijail D. Serruya ◽  
Robert F. Heary ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Muscle Contraction ◽  
Motor Function ◽  
Therapeutic Intervention ◽  
Spinal Cord Injuries ◽  
Motor Training ◽  
Cord Injury

AbstractElectrical stimulation is used to elicit muscle contraction and can be utilized for neurorehabilitation following spinal cord injury when paired with voluntary motor training. This technology is now an important therapeutic intervention that results in improvement in motor function in patients with spinal cord injuries. The purpose of this review is to summarize the various forms of electrical stimulation technology that exist and their applications. Furthermore, this paper addresses the potential future of the technology.

scholarly journals Exoskeletons, Rehabilitation and Bodily Capacities

2021 ◽  
pp. 1357034X2110256
Author(s):  
Denisa Butnaru
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Spinal Cord Injuries ◽  
Main Task ◽  
Cerebrovascular Accidents ◽  
Complex Processes ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Neurological Conditions

Motility impairments resulting from spinal cord injuries and cerebrovascular accidents are increasingly prevalent in society, leading to the growing development of rehabilitative robotic technologies, among them exoskeletons. This article outlines how bodies with neurological conditions such as spinal cord injury and stroke engage in processes of re-appropriation while using exoskeletons and some of the challenges they face. The main task of exoskeletons in rehabilitative environments is either to rehabilitate or ameliorate anatomic functions of impaired bodies. In these complex processes, they also play a crucial role in recasting specific corporeal phenomenologies. For the accomplishment of these forms of corporeal re-appropriation, the role of experts is crucial. This article explores how categories such as bodily resistance, techno-inter-corporeal co-production of bodies and machines, as well as body work mark the landscape of these contemporary forms of impaired corporeality. While defending corporeal extension rather than incorporation, I argue against the figure of the ‘cyborg’ and posit the idea of ‘residual subjectivity’.

scholarly journals The Effect of Intraspinal Micro Stimulation With Variable Stimulating Pattern in Adult Rat With Induction of Spinal Cord Injury in the Treatment of Spinal Cord Injuries

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 83-91
Author(s):  
Mohaddeseh Hedayatzadeh ◽  
Hamid Reza Kobravi ◽  
Maryam Tehranipour
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Spinal Cord Injuries ◽  
Animal Movement ◽  
Specific Treatment ◽  
Male Rats ◽  
Gait Dynamics ◽  
Variable Pattern ◽  
Cord Injury

Background: Spinal cord injury is one of the diseases that, no specific treatment has yet found despite the variety of works that have done in this field. Different approaches to treat such injuries have investigated today. One of them is invasive intra-spinal interventions such as electrical stimulation. Therefore, in this study, the effect of the protocol for intra-spinal variable and fixed electrical stimulation has been investigated in order to recover from spinal cord injury. Methods: In the study, 18 Wistar male rats randomly divided into Three groups, including intraspinal electrical stimulation (IES), IES with variable pattern of stimulation (VP IES) and a sham group. Animals initially subjected to induced spinal cord injury. After one week, the animal movement was recorded on the treadmill during practice using a camera and angles of the ankle joint were measured using the Tracker software. Then, the obtained data were analyzed by nonlinear evaluations in the phase space. Results: The motion analyses and kinematic analyses were carried out on all groups. According to the achieved results, the gait dynamics of the VP IES group has the most conformity to the gait dynamics of the healthy group. Also, the best quality of the balance preservation observed in the VP IES group. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the IES with variable pattern of stimulation along with exercise therapy has significant gait restorative effects and increases the range of motion in rats with induced spinal cord injury.

scholarly journals Hydrogels and Cell Based Therapies in Spinal Cord Injury Regeneration

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita C. Assunção-Silva ◽  
Eduardo D. Gomes ◽  
Nuno Sousa ◽  
Nuno A. Silva ◽  
António J. Salgado
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Stem Cells ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Cell Survival ◽  
Spinal Cord Injuries ◽  
Human Stem Cells ◽  
Related Disorder ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
Cell Carriers

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a central nervous system- (CNS-) related disorder for which there is yet no successful treatment. Within the past several years, cell-based therapies have been explored for SCI repair, including the use of pluripotent human stem cells, and a number of adult-derived stem and mature cells such as mesenchymal stem cells, olfactory ensheathing cells, and Schwann cells. Although promising, cell transplantation is often overturned by the poor cell survival in the treatment of spinal cord injuries. Alternatively, the therapeutic role of different cells has been used in tissue engineering approaches by engrafting cells with biomaterials. The latter have the advantages of physically mimicking the CNS tissue, while promoting a more permissive environment for cell survival, growth, and differentiation. The roles of both cell- and biomaterial-based therapies as single therapeutic approaches for SCI repair will be discussed in this review. Moreover, as the multifactorial inhibitory environment of a SCI suggests that combinatorial approaches would be more effective, the importance of using biomaterials as cell carriers will be herein highlighted, as well as the recent advances and achievements of these promising tools for neural tissue regeneration.

scholarly journals Pathophysiological Changes and the Role of Notch-1 Activation After Decompression in a Compressive Spinal Cord Injury Rat Model

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xing Cheng ◽  
Zhengran Yu ◽  
Jinghui Xu ◽  
Daping Quan ◽  
Houqing Long
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Motor Function ◽  
Surgical Decompression ◽  
Cellular Damage ◽  
Notch 1 ◽  
Post Injury ◽  
Function Recovery ◽  
Cord Injury

Surgical decompression is the primary treatment for cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) patients with compressive spinal cord injury (CSCI). However, the prognosis of patients with CSCI varies, and the pathophysiological changes following decompression remain poor. This study aimed to investigate the pathophysiological changes and the role of Notch-1 activation after decompression in a rat CSCI model. Surgical decompression was conducted at 1 week post-injury (wpi). DAPT was intraperitoneally injected to down-regulate Notch-1 expression. Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan scores and an inclined plane test were used to evaluate the motor function recovery. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed to assess pathophysiological changes, while hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), von Willebrand factor (vWF), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9, MMP-2, Notch-1, and Hes-1 expression in the spinal cord were examined by immunohistochemical analysis or quantitative PCR. The results show that early decompression can partially promote motor function recovery. Improvements in structural and cellular damage and hypoxic levels were also observed in the decompressed spinal cord. Moreover, decompression resulted in increased VEGF and vWF expression, but decreased MMP-9 and MMP-2 expression at 3 wpi. Expression levels of Notch-1 and its downstream gene Hes-1 were increased after decompression, and the inhibition of Notch-1 significantly reduced the decompression-induced motor function recovery. This exploratory study revealed preliminary pathophysiological changes in the compressed and decompressed rat spinal cord. Furthermore, we confirmed that early surgical decompression partially promotes motor function recovery may via activation of the Notch-1 signaling pathway after CSCI. These results could provide new insights for the development of drug therapy to enhance recovery following surgery.

Role of Microglia and Astrocytes in Spinal Cord Injury Induced Neuropathic Pain

2021 ◽  
pp. 097275312110463
Author(s):  
Gurwattan S. Miranpuri ◽  
Parul Bali ◽  
Justyn Nguyen ◽  
Jason J Kim ◽  
Shweta Modgil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Neuropathic Pain ◽  
Spinal Cord Injuries ◽  
Medical Condition ◽  
The United States ◽  
Current Treatment ◽  
Treatment Modalities ◽  
Cord Injury

Spinal cord injuries incite varying degrees of symptoms in patients, ranging from weakness and incoordination to paralysis. Common amongst spinal cord injury (SCI) patients, neuropathic pain (NP) is a debilitating medical condition. Unfortunately, there remain many clinical impediments in treating NP because there is a lack of understanding regarding the mechanisms behind SCI-induced NP (SCINP). Given that more than 450,000 people in the United States alone suffer from SCI, it is unsatisfactory that current treatments yield poor results in alleviating and treating NP. In this review, we briefly discussed the models of SCINP along with the mechanisms of NP progression. Further, current treatment modalities are herein explored for SCINP involving pharmacological interventions targeting glia cells and astrocytes. The studies presented in this review provide insight for new directions regarding SCINP alleviation. Given the severity and incapacitating effects of SCINP, it is imperative to study the pathways involved and find new therapeutic targets in coordination with stem cell research, and to develop a new gold-standard in SCINP treatment.

scholarly journals Entinostat Improves Motor Function and Neuronal Damage Via Downregulating NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation After Spinal Cord Injury

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Dai ◽  
Bin Liu ◽  
Bibo Peng ◽  
Bo Qu ◽  
Jiezhi Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Inflammatory Response ◽  
Motor Function ◽  
Nlrp3 Inflammasome ◽  
Neuronal Damage ◽  
Inflammasome Activation ◽  
Nlrp3 Inflammasome Activation ◽  
Cord Injury

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI), a major public health problem, has no effective treatment. A large number of studies have confirmed that histone deacetylases (HDACs) are involved in the physiologic processes that occur following SCI. We tried to uncover the potential neuroprotective role of entinostat (a class I HDAC inhibitor) in SCI.Methods: We conducted a study on a preclinical mouse model of SCI and OGD-induced neuronal damage to present the role of entinostat by the analysis of motor function, histopathologic damage, local NLRP3 inflammasome activation, and neuronal damage.Results: The results showed that entinostat suppressed HDAC activation (including HDAC1 and HDAC3 expression), improved the grip strength and BMS score, spinal edema, cell death, and local NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the spinal cord following SCI. Furthermore, entinostat significantly increased OGD-inhibited neuronal activity and decreased PI-positive cells, HDAC activation, caspase-1 activation, IL-1β and IL-18 levels, and NLRP3 expression.Conclusion: In summary, we first documented that entinostat improved the motor function, histopathologic damage, and local inflammatory response and NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the spinal cord following SCI and also presented the neuroprotective role of OGD-induced neuronal damage via the NLRP3 inflammasome. Thus, our study has the potential to reveal the interaction between the HDAC and NLRP3 inflammasome in the pathologic process as well as SCI and further promote the clinical indications of HDACi entinostat and clinical treatment for the inflammatory response after SCI.

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