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Singh G, Sharma P, Forrest G, Harkema S, Behrman A, Gerasimenko Y. Spinal Cord Transcutaneous Stimulation in Cervical Spinal Cord Injury: A Review Examining Upper Extremity Neuromotor Control, Recovery Mechanisms, and Future Directions. J Neurotrauma 2024. [PMID: 38874496 DOI: 10.1089/neu.2023.0438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) results in significant sensorimotor impairments below the injury level, notably in the upper extremities (UEs), impacting daily activities and quality of life. Regaining UE function remains the top priority for individuals post-cervical SCI. Recent advances in understanding adaptive plasticity within the sensorimotor system have led to the development of novel non-invasive neurostimulation strategies, such as spinal cord transcutaneous stimulation (scTS), to facilitate UE motor recovery after SCI. This comprehensive review investigates the neuromotor control of UE, the typical recovery trajectories following SCI, and the therapeutic potential of scTS to enhance UE motor function in individuals with cervical SCI. Although limited in number with smaller sample sizes, the included research articles consistently suggest that scTS, when combined with task-specific training, improves voluntary control of arm and hand function and sensation. Further, the reported improvements translate to the recovery of various UE functional tasks and positively impact the quality of life in individuals with cervical SCI. Several methodological limitations, including stimulation site selection and parameters, training strategies, and sensitive outcome measures, require further advancements to allow successful translation of scTS from research to clinical settings. This review also summarizes the current literature and proposes future directions to support establishing approaches for scTS as a viable neuro-rehabilitative tool.
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Affiliation(s)
- Goutam Singh
- Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
- Kosair for Kids School of Physical Therapy, Spalding University, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
| | - Pawan Sharma
- Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
| | - Gail Forrest
- Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey, USA
- Kessler Foundation, Newark, New Jersey, USA
| | - Susan Harkema
- Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
- Frazier Rehabilitation Institute, University of Louisville Health, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
| | - Andrea Behrman
- Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
- Frazier Rehabilitation Institute, University of Louisville Health, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
| | - Yury Gerasimenko
- Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
- Department of Physiology, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
- Pavlov Institute of Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
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Massey S, Konig D, Upadhyay P, Evcil ZB, Melin R, Fatima M, Hannah R, Duffell L. The effects of transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation delivered with and without high-frequency modulation on spinal and corticospinal excitability. Artif Organs 2024; 48:297-308. [PMID: 37840354 DOI: 10.1111/aor.14660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Abstract
Transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (TSCS) has been shown to improve motor recovery in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). Some groups deliver TSCS modulated with a kHz-frequency (TSCS-kHz); the intensity used for TSCS-kHz is usually set based on the motor threshold for TSCS, even though TSCS-kHz threshold is considerably higher than TSCS. As a result, TSCS-kHz interventions tend to be delivered at low intensities with respect to the motor threshold (~40%). In this study, we compared the effects of sub-threshold TSCS and TSCS-kHz, when delivered at similar intensity relative to their own motor threshold. Experiment I compared the after-effects of 20 min of sub-threshold (40% threshold) TSCS and TSCS-kHz on spinal and corticospinal excitability in able-bodied participants. Experiment II assessed the dose-response relationship of delivering short (10-pulse) trains of TSCS and TSCS-kHz at three different current intensities relative to the threshold (40%, 60%, and 80%). Experiment I found that 20 min of TSCS-kHz at a 40% threshold decreased posterior root reflex amplitude (p < 0.05), whereas TSCS did not. In experiment II, motor-evoked potential (MEP) amplitude increased following short trains of TSCS and TSCS-kHz of increasing intensity. MEP amplitude was significantly greater for TSCS-kHz compared with TSCS when delivered at 80% of the threshold (p < 0.05). These results suggest that TSCS and TSCS-kHz have different effects when delivered at similar intensity relative to their own threshold; both for immediate effects on corticospinal excitability and following prolonged stimulation on spinal excitability. These different effects may be utilized for optimal rehabilitation in people with SCI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Massey
- Department of Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London, UK
- Aspire Centre for Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology, UCL Institute of Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Sciences, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, London, UK
| | - Danielle Konig
- Department of Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London, UK
| | - Pratham Upadhyay
- Department of Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London, UK
| | - Zehra Beril Evcil
- Department of Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London, UK
| | - Rebbekha Melin
- Department of Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London, UK
| | - Memoona Fatima
- Department of Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London, UK
| | - Ricci Hannah
- Centre for Human and Applied Physiological Sciences, Kings College London, London, UK
| | - Lynsey Duffell
- Department of Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London, UK
- Aspire Centre for Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology, UCL Institute of Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Sciences, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, London, UK
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Malik RN, Samejima S, Shackleton C, Miller T, Pedrocchi ALG, Rabchevsky AG, Moritz CT, Darrow D, Field-Fote EC, Guanziroli E, Ambrosini E, Molteni F, Gad P, Mushahwar VK, Sachdeva R, Krassioukov AV. REPORT-SCS: minimum reporting standards for spinal cord stimulation studies in spinal cord injury. J Neural Eng 2024; 21:016019. [PMID: 38271712 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/ad2290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Objective.Electrical spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has emerged as a promising therapy for recovery of motor and autonomic dysfunctions following spinal cord injury (SCI). Despite the rise in studies using SCS for SCI complications, there are no standard guidelines for reporting SCS parameters in research publications, making it challenging to compare, interpret or reproduce reported effects across experimental studies.Approach.To develop guidelines for minimum reporting standards for SCS parameters in pre-clinical and clinical SCI research, we gathered an international panel of expert clinicians and scientists. Using a Delphi approach, we developed guideline items and surveyed the panel on their level of agreement for each item.Main results.There was strong agreement on 26 of the 29 items identified for establishing minimum reporting standards for SCS studies. The guidelines encompass three major SCS categories: hardware, configuration and current parameters, and the intervention.Significance.Standardized reporting of stimulation parameters will ensure that SCS studies can be easily analyzed, replicated, and interpreted by the scientific community, thereby expanding the SCS knowledge base and fostering transparency in reporting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raza N Malik
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Soshi Samejima
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Claire Shackleton
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Tiev Miller
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Alessandra Laura Giulia Pedrocchi
- Nearlab, Department di Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, and We-Cobot Laboratory, Polo Territoriale di Lecco, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Alexander G Rabchevsky
- Spinal Cord & Brain Injury Research Center, Department of Physiology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States of America
| | - Chet T Moritz
- Departments of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Rehabilitation Medicine, and Physiology & Biophysics, and the Center for Neurotechnology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States of America
| | - David Darrow
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States of America
- Department of Neurosurgery, Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN, United States of America
| | - Edelle C Field-Fote
- Shepherd Center, Crawford Research Institute, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
- Emory University School of Medicine, Division of Physical Therapy, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
- Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Biological Sciences, Program in Applied Physiology, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Eleonora Guanziroli
- Villa Beretta Rehabilitation Center, Valduce Hospital, Costa Masnaga, Lecco, Italy
| | - Emilia Ambrosini
- Nearlab, Department di Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, and We-Cobot Laboratory, Polo Territoriale di Lecco, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Franco Molteni
- Villa Beretta Rehabilitation Center, Valduce Hospital, Costa Masnaga, Lecco, Italy
| | - Parag Gad
- SpineX Inc., Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Vivian K Mushahwar
- Department of Medicine and Sensory Motor Adaptive Rehabilitation Technology (SMART) Network, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Rahul Sachdeva
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Andrei V Krassioukov
- International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Spinal Cord Research Program, G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre, Vancouver Coastal Health, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Fang K, Lu P, Cheng W, Yu B. Kilohertz high-frequency electrical stimulation ameliorate hyperalgesia by modulating transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-2B signaling pathways in chronic constriction injury of sciatic nerve mice. Mol Pain 2024; 20:17448069231225810. [PMID: 38148592 PMCID: PMC10851768 DOI: 10.1177/17448069231225810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 12/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The number of patients with neuropathic pain is increasing in recent years, but drug treatments for neuropathic pain have a low success rate and often come with significant side effects. Consequently, the development of innovative therapeutic strategies has become an urgent necessity. Kilohertz High Frequency Electrical Stimulation (KHES) offers pain relief without inducing paresthesia. However, the specific therapeutic effects of KHES on neuropathic pain and its underlying mechanisms remain ambiguous, warranting further investigation. In our previous study, we utilized the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database to identify datasets related to neuropathic pain mice. The majority of the identified pathways were found to be associated with inflammatory responses. From these pathways, we selected the transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (TRPV1) and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-2B (NMDAR2B) pathway for further exploration. Mice were randomly divided into four groups: a Sham group, a Sham/KHES group, a chronic constriction injury of the sciatic nerve (CCI) group, and a CCI/KHES stimulation group. KHES administered 30 min every day for 1 week. We evaluated the paw withdrawal threshold (PWT) and thermal withdrawal latency (TWL). The expression of TRPV1 and NMDAR2B in the spinal cord were analyzed using quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and immunofluorescence assay. KHES significantly alleviated the mechanical and thermal allodynia in neuropathic pain mice. KHES effectively suppressed the expression of TRPV1 and NMDAR2B, consequently inhibiting the activation of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and ionized calcium binding adapter molecule 1 (IBA1) in the spinal cord. The administration of the TRPV1 pathway activator partially reversed the antinociceptive effects of KHES, while the TRPV1 pathway inhibitor achieved analgesic effects similar to KHES. KHES inhibited the activation of spinal dorsal horn glial cells, especially astrocytes and microglia, by inhibiting the activation of the TRPV1/NMDAR2B signaling pathway, ultimately alleviating neuropathic pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kexin Fang
- Department of Anesthesia and Pain Rehabilitation, Yangzhi Affiliated Rehabilitation Hospital of Tongji University, Shanghai, China
- Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Peixin Lu
- Department of Anesthesia and Pain Rehabilitation, Yangzhi Affiliated Rehabilitation Hospital of Tongji University, Shanghai, China
- Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Wen Cheng
- Department of Anesthesia and Pain Rehabilitation, Yangzhi Affiliated Rehabilitation Hospital of Tongji University, Shanghai, China
- Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Bin Yu
- Department of Anesthesia and Pain Rehabilitation, Yangzhi Affiliated Rehabilitation Hospital of Tongji University, Shanghai, China
- Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
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Bryson N, Lombardi L, Hawthorn R, Fei J, Keesey R, Peiffer J, Seáñez I. Enhanced selectivity of transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation by multielectrode configuration. J Neural Eng 2023; 20:10.1088/1741-2552/ace552. [PMID: 37419109 PMCID: PMC10481387 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/ace552] [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: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/09/2023]
Abstract
Objective.Transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (tSCS) has been gaining momentum as a non-invasive rehabilitation approach to restore movement to paralyzed muscles after spinal cord injury (SCI). However, its low selectivity limits the types of movements that can be enabled and, thus, its potential applications in rehabilitation.Approach.In this cross-over study design, we investigated whether muscle recruitment selectivity of individual muscles could be enhanced by multielectrode configurations of tSCS in 16 neurologically intact individuals. We hypothesized that due to the segmental innervation of lower limb muscles, we could identify muscle-specific optimal stimulation locations that would enable improved recruitment selectivity over conventional tSCS. We elicited leg muscle responses by delivering biphasic pulses of electrical stimulation to the lumbosacral enlargement using conventional and multielectrode tSCS.Results.Analysis of recruitment curve responses confirmed that multielectrode configurations could improve the rostrocaudal and lateral selectivity of tSCS. To investigate whether motor responses elicited by spatially selective tSCS were mediated by posterior root-muscle reflexes, each stimulation event was a paired pulse with a conditioning-test interval of 33.3 ms. Muscle responses to the second stimulation pulse were significantly suppressed, a characteristic of post-activation depression suggesting that spatially selective tSCS recruits proprioceptive fibers that reflexively activate muscle-specific motor neurons in the spinal cord. Moreover, the combination of leg muscle recruitment probability and segmental innervation maps revealed a stereotypical spinal activation map in congruence with each electrode's position.Significance. Improvements in muscle recruitment selectivity could be essential for the effective translation into stimulation protocols that selectively enhance single-joint movements in neurorehabilitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noah Bryson
- Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis
- Division of Neurotechnology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
| | - Lorenzo Lombardi
- Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis
- Division of Neurotechnology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
| | - Rachel Hawthorn
- Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis
- Division of Neurotechnology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
| | - Jie Fei
- Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis
- Division of Neurotechnology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
| | - Rodolfo Keesey
- Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis
- Division of Neurotechnology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
| | - J.D. Peiffer
- Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis
- Division of Neurotechnology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
- Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University
| | - Ismael Seáñez
- Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis
- Division of Neurotechnology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
- Neurosurgery, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
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Bryson N, Lombardi L, Hawthorn R, Fei J, Keesey R, Peiffer JD, Seáñez I. Enhanced selectivity of transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation by multielectrode configuration. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.03.30.534835. [PMID: 37034788 PMCID: PMC10081184 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.30.534835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Objective Transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (tSCS) has been gaining momentum as a non-invasive rehabilitation approach to restore movement to paralyzed muscles after spinal cord injury (SCI). However, its low selectivity limits the types of movements that can be enabled and, thus, its potential applications in rehabilitation. Approach In this cross-over study design, we investigated whether muscle recruitment selectivity of individual muscles could be enhanced by multielectrode configurations of tSCS in 16 neurologically intact individuals. We hypothesized that due to the segmental innervation of lower limb muscles, we could identify muscle-specific optimal stimulation locations that would enable improved recruitment selectivity over conventional tSCS. We elicited leg muscle responses by delivering biphasic pulses of electrical stimulation to the lumbosacral enlargement using conventional and multielectrode tSCS. Results Analysis of recruitment curve responses confirmed that multielectrode configurations could improve the rostrocaudal and lateral selectivity of tSCS. To investigate whether motor responses elicited by spatially selective tSCS were mediated by posterior root-muscle reflexes, each stimulation event was a paired pulse with a conditioning-test interval of 33.3 ms. Muscle responses to the second stimulation pulse were significantly suppressed, a characteristic of post-activation depression suggesting that spatially selective tSCS recruits proprioceptive fibers that reflexively activate muscle-specific motor neurons in the spinal cord. Moreover, the combination of leg muscle recruitment probability and segmental innervation maps revealed a stereotypical spinal activation map in congruence with each electrode's position. Significance Improvements in muscle recruitment selectivity could be essential for the effective translation into stimulation protocols that selectively enhance single-joint movements in neurorehabilitation.
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