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CNS Changes Following SCI

NCT03772548 · Status: RECRUITING · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 450

Last updated 2025-12-15

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The objective of this study is to better understand the structural and functional changes that the central nervous system (CNS) undergoes following spinal cord injury and how these changes relate to clinical measures. Both macroscopic and microscopic changes of the brain and the spinal cord will be examined in SCI patients and compared to healthy controls. In terms of structural plasticity, we aim to identify MR biomarkers that allow predicting the course of the patient's neurological status and accurately describe the course of the disease and the recovery. Importantly, we aim to investigate which factors scale the patients' symptoms. In terms of functional plasticity, we will combine fMRI with behavioural testing to understand which clinical and behavioural determinants drive functional hand representations in the primary somatosensory and motor cortices to be maintained and which determinants drive reorganisation of functional representations following sensory input loss. We will further investigate the contribution of brainstem reorganisation to plasticity observed at the cortical level and, by doing so, aim to better understand the mechanistic underpinnings of functional reorganisation.

Conditions

  • Spinal Cord Injuries

Interventions

DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

MRI

We will examine acute (\<4 weeks post SCI) to chronic (\>6 months post SCI) patients using functional, structural, and metabolic MRI in both the brain and the spinal cord.

DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

MRI

We will examine healthy control participants using functional, structural, and metabolic MRI in both the brain and the spinal cord.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Zurich

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Patrick Freund, Prof. Dr. · University of Zurich

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
75 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2018-07-18
Primary Completion
2027-06-30
Completion
2027-06-30

Countries

  • Switzerland

Study Locations

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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 NCT03772548 on ClinicalTrials.gov