High-frequency spinal stimulation shows promise in reducing muscle spasticity

Electrical stimulation of the spinal cord is a promising technique for reestablishing strolling after spinal cord injury, current research present. However for sufferers affected by muscle spasms, the stimulation protocols have a restricted impact because of the unpredictable behaviour of involuntary muscle stiffness associated to spasticity. Muscle spasticity impacts virtually 70% of spinal cord injured sufferers

Now, scientists at EPFL, Università San Raffaele and Scuola Sant’Anna have discovered a promising method to deal with and scale back muscle spasticity in sufferers with incomplete spinal cord injury. It entails zapping the spinal cord with high-frequency electrical stimulation that blocks the irregular muscular contractions. This high-frequency therapy provides sufferers affected by spasticity entry to rehabilitation protocols that have been beforehand inaccessible to them with an excellent scientific consequence. The outcomes are revealed as we speak in Science Translational Medication.

We have discovered that prime frequency electrical stimulation of the spinal cord, coupled with the same old steady, low-frequency spinal stimulation, is efficient throughout rehabilitation after spinal cord injury, overcoming muscular stiffness and spasms in paralyzed sufferers and successfully aiding the sufferers throughout locomotion.”

Silvestro Micera, professor at EPFL’s Neuro X Institute and Scuola Sant’Anna

“This can be a secure and efficient surgical process that provides a brand new perspective within the therapy of sufferers with extreme injury to the spinal cord. We’re planning to increase the indications to totally different scientific situations we’ll outline within the subsequent month. We’re deeply grateful to the sufferers who trusted us,” says Pietro Mortini, Head of the Neurosurgery and Stereotactic Radiosurgery Unit at IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele (Milan) and full professor of Neurosurgery on the College Vita-Salute San Raffaele.

Electrical stimulation of the spinal cord is an oblique method to attain the motor neurons that make muscle groups transfer. That is as a result of the bottom of the spinal cord incorporates sensory neurons which in flip talk with the motor neurons. In muscle

spasticity, it’s identified that the spinal sensory-motor circuits are overreactive. In truth, the spinal cord is of course overreactive to stimuli, which is nice because it results in quick reflexes. Usually, that over-reactivity is balanced out by the mind that inhibits the motor circuits. In spinal cord injury, the affected person loses messaging from the mind and these inhibitory mechanisms. By not directly stimulating the motor circuits, the analysis group has discovered that high-frequency stimulation of the spinal cord is a synthetic and secure method to inhibit that over-reactivity with out producing discomfort in sufferers.

Through the scientific trial at San Raffaele Hospital, coordinated by Mortini and Micera, Simone Romeni, first creator of the examine and researcher at EPFL and Università San Raffaele, proposed to implement high-frequency stimulation taking inspiration from earlier work on high-frequency kilohertz blocks of motor circuits by stimulating peripheral nerves.

“At this stage, we will solely speculate that high-frequency stimulation acts as a kilohertz block that stops muscle spasticity,” says Micera.

“The scientific knowledge with the 2 sufferers level to the advantages of implementing high-frequency stimulation for decreasing muscle stiffness and spasms in paralysis. Extra experiments will likely be vital to substantiate the potentials of this method,” concludes Mortini.