Spinal injury breakthrough: brain zaps may restore grip
NCT ID NCT07433959
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether a noninvasive brain stimulation method, combined with hand exercises, can improve grasping ability in people with chronic spinal cord injury. About 54 adults with neck-level injuries will receive either real or sham stimulation during training sessions. The goal is to strengthen the brain's signals to hand muscles, potentially making daily tasks easier.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 54 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Apr 2026
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 75 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: For individuals with SCI: * Ages 18-75 years * Chronic SCI (≥1 year of injury) * Cervical injury at C8 or above * Individuals who have MEP responses in at least one FDI muscle Exclusion Criteria: * Uncontrolled medical problems including pulmonary or cardiovascular disease * Premorbid, ongoing major depression or psychosis, altered cognitive status * History of head injury or stroke * Metal plate in skull * History of seizures * Receiving drugs acting primarily on the central nervous system, which lower the seizure threshold such as antipsychotic drugs * Pregnant females * Individuals who suffer from a spinal cord disease such as spinal stenosis, spinal bifida or herniated cervical
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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The State University of New York at Buffalo
RECRUITINGBuffalo, New York, 14214, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Determination of efficacy of sustained motor contraction generated using StimWave peripheral nerve stimulator
- Can magnetic pulses to the brain restore hand control after spinal injury?
- Robotic legs may help rebuild bone in people with spinal cord injury
- Could a muscle hormone shield bones after spinal cord injury?
- Can hope and trust boost engagement with rehab robots?
- Spinal zaps may calm muscle spasms after injury