MedTrace Logo

Cyproheptadine and Chlorpromazine Effects on Spasticity

NCT01509885 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 20

Last updated 2012-11-20

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The main goal of this research is to understand the neuronal mechanisms that mediate the development of spasticity and motor dysfunction after spinal cord injury. The investigators examine how neurons and neuronal circuits in an injured nervous system adapt to produce the uncontrolled and unwanted muscle contractions that affect the majority (80%) of patients with spinal cord injury. One of the neurons that the investigators study is the motoneuron that excites the muscles of the limbs to produce movement. Previously, the investigators have shown that after spinal cord injury, the excessive and uncontrolled activity of motoneurons during muscle spasms is mediated, in large part, by the activation of calcium currents in the human motoneuron. In human patients the investigators have used recordings from single muscle fibres to estimate the contribution of these calcium currents in activating the motoneuron during muscle spasms. In this proposal, the investigators study why motoneurons recover these calcium currents and self-sustained activity after chronic spinal cord injury. Because the calcium currents require the presence of the monoamine serotonin (5HT) to activate, and this monoamine is greatly reduced after injury, the investigators examine if the calcium currents recover because the 5HT receptors become spontaneously active without the need for 5HT to bind to the receptor, which the investigators hypothesize to be one of the causes of spasticity after spinal cord injury. This research will pave the way to develop new pharmacological and rehabilitative therapies to both control spasticity after spinal cord injury and augment residual motor movements.

Conditions

  • Spinal Cord Injuries
  • Muscle Spasticity

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Alberta

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Monica A Gorassini, PhD · University of Alberta

Eligibility

Min Age
17 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2010-07-31
Primary Completion
2012-11-30
Completion
2012-11-30

Countries

  • Canada

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT01509885 on ClinicalTrials.gov