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Angeli C, Rejc E, Boakye M, Herrity A, Mesbah S, Hubscher C, Forrest G, Harkema S. Targeted Selection of Stimulation Parameters for Restoration of Motor and Autonomic Function in Individuals With Spinal Cord Injury. Neuromodulation 2024; 27:645-660. [PMID: 37140522 PMCID: PMC10624649 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurom.2023.03.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Revised: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
STUDY DESIGN This is a report of methods and tools for selection of task and individual configurations targeted for voluntary movement, standing, stepping, blood pressure stabilization, and facilitation of bladder storage and emptying using tonic-interleaved excitation of the lumbosacral spinal cord. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to present strategies used for selection of stimulation parameters for various motor and autonomic functions. CONCLUSIONS Tonic-interleaved functionally focused neuromodulation targets a myriad of consequences from spinal cord injury with surgical implantation of the epidural electrode at a single location. This approach indicates the sophistication of the human spinal cord circuitry and its important role in the regulation of motor and autonomic functions in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Angeli
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA; Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA; Frazier Rehabilitation Institute, University of Louisville Health, Louisville, KY, USA.
| | - Enrico Rejc
- Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA; Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
| | - Maxwell Boakye
- Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA; Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
| | - April Herrity
- Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA; Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA; Department of Physiology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
| | - Samineh Mesbah
- Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
| | - Charles Hubscher
- Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA; Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
| | - Gail Forrest
- Human Performance and Engineering Research, Kessler Foundation, West Orange, NJ, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - Susan Harkema
- Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA; Frazier Rehabilitation Institute, University of Louisville Health, Louisville, KY, USA; Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
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Medina-Aguiñaga D, Hoey RF, Wilkins NL, Ugiliweneza B, Fell J, Harkema SJ, Hubscher CH. Mid-lumbar (L3) epidural stimulation effects on bladder and external urethral sphincter in non-injured and chronically transected urethane-anesthetized rats. Sci Rep 2023; 13:12258. [PMID: 37507456 PMCID: PMC10382500 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39388-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent pre-clinical and clinical spinal cord epidural stimulation (scES) experiments specifically targeting the thoracolumbar and lumbosacral circuitries mediating lower urinary tract (LUT) function have shown improvements in storage, detrusor pressure, and emptying. With the existence of a lumbar spinal coordinating center in rats that is involved with external urethral sphincter (EUS) functionality during micturition, the mid-lumbar spinal cord (specifically L3) was targeted in the current study with scES to determine if the EUS and thus the void pattern could be modulated, using both intact and chronic complete spinal cord injured female rats under urethane anesthesia. L3 scES at select frequencies and intensities of stimulation produced a reduction in void volumes and EUS burst duration in intact rats. After chronic transection, three different subgroups of LUT dysfunction were identified and the response to L3 scES promoted different cystometry outcomes, including changes in EUS bursting. The current findings suggest that scES at the L3 level can generate functional neuromodulation of both the urinary bladder and the EUS in intact and SCI rats to enhance voiding in a variety of clinical scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Medina-Aguiñaga
- Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, 511 S. Floyd St., MDR, Room 111, Louisville, KY, 40202, USA
| | - Robert F Hoey
- Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, 511 S. Floyd St., MDR, Room 111, Louisville, KY, 40202, USA
- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department, MetroHealth Rehabilitation Institute of Ohio, Cleveland, OH, USA
- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitiation Department, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Natasha L Wilkins
- Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, 511 S. Floyd St., MDR, Room 111, Louisville, KY, 40202, USA
| | - Beatrice Ugiliweneza
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, USA
- Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
- Department of Health Management and Systems Science, School of Public Health and Information Science, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
| | - Jason Fell
- Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, 511 S. Floyd St., MDR, Room 111, Louisville, KY, 40202, USA
| | - Susan J Harkema
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY, USA
- Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
| | - Charles H Hubscher
- Department of Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, 511 S. Floyd St., MDR, Room 111, Louisville, KY, 40202, USA.
- Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA.
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Historical development and contemporary use of neuromodulation in human spinal cord injury. Curr Opin Neurol 2022; 35:536-543. [PMID: 35856918 DOI: 10.1097/wco.0000000000001080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW There is a long history of neuromodulation of the spinal cord after injury in humans with recent momentum of studies showing evidence for therapeutic potential. Nonrandomized, mechanistic, hypothesis-driven, small cohort, epidural stimulation proof of principle studies provide insight into the human spinal circuitry functionality and support the pathway toward clinical treatments. RECENT FINDINGS Individuals living with spinal cord injury can recover motor, cardiovascular, and bladder function even years after injury using neuromodulation. Integration of continuous feedback from sensory information, task-specific training, and optimized excitability state of human spinal circuitry are critical spinal mechanisms. Neuromodulation activates previously undetectable residual supraspinal pathways to allow intentional (voluntary) control of motor movements. Further discovery unveiled the human spinal circuitry integrated regulatory control of motor and autonomic systems indicating the realistic potential of neuromodulation to improve the capacity incrementally, but significantly for recovery after severe spinal cord injury. SUMMARY The discovery that both motor and autonomic function recovers with lumbosacral spinal cord placement of the electrode reveals exciting avenues for a synergistic overall improvement in function, health, and quality of life for those who have been living with the consequences of spinal cord injury even for decades.
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