Daily acute intermittent hypoxia to improve walking function in persons with subacute spinal cord injury: a randomized clinical trial study protocol
Abstract
Restoring community walking remains a highly valued goal for persons recovering from traumatic incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI). Recently, studies report that brief episodes of low-oxygen breathing (acute intermittent hypoxia, AIH) may serve as an effective plasticity-inducing primer that enhances the effects of walking therapy in persons with chronic (> 1 year) SCI. More persistent walking recovery may occur following repetitive (weeks) AIH treatment involving persons with more acute SCI, but this possibility remains unknown. Here we present our clinical trial protocol, designed to examine the distinct influences of repetitive AIH, with and without walking practice, on walking recovery in persons with sub-acute SCI (< 12 months) SCI. Our overarching hypothesis is that daily exposure (10 sessions, 2 weeks) to AIH will enhance walking recovery in ambulatory and non-ambulatory persons with subacute (< 12 months) SCI, presumably by harnessing endogenous mechanisms of plasticity that occur soon after injury.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jul 08, 2020
- Source ID
- 10.1186/s12883-020-01851-9
Entities
People
- Andrea Crane
- Andrew Q. Tan
- Angela Link
- Avantika Naidu
- Chloe Slocum
- Denise M. Peters
- Heather B. Hayes
- Randy D Trumbower
- Ross Zafonte
- Stella Barth
- Swapna Balakrishnan
Organizations
- United States Department of Defense