Spinal zaps may quiet overactive muscles in kids with cerebral palsy
NCT ID NCT07715006
First seen Jul 20, 2026 · Last updated Aug 12, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This trial tests whether delivering electrical pulses to spinal nerves can temporarily calm spastic muscles in children with cerebral palsy. Researchers will stimulate the dorsal root nerves during a planned surgery and measure muscle responses. The goal is to see if this stimulation can reduce the exaggerated reflexes that cause stiffness and tightness.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- electrical stimulation of the dorsal root nerves during surgery
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this approach could point toward a way to temporarily reduce spasticity during surgery, potentially improving outcomes for children with cerebral palsy.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small, early-stage trial with only 15 children, and the stimulation is tested only during a single surgical procedure. It may not translate to lasting benefit or work outside the operating room.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
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 15 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jul 2026
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2029
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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3 to 14 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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: * Children ages 3 to 14 * Diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy * Require an SDR as determined by the multidisciplinary movement disorders team * Confirmation that subjects' terms of insurance coverage for their standard of care procedure will not be altered by study enrollment. Exclusion Criteria: * No exclusion criteria
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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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UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
RECRUITINGPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15224, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can modified music tunes boost balance in kids with cerebral palsy?
- Eye-Tracking glasses may reveal how children with cerebral palsy coordinate gaze and hands
- Can a double nerve block spare kids with cerebral palsy from Post-Surgery pain?
- A Baby's fidgets may reveal brain health: study tests early warning signs
- A vast data bank could unlock secrets of bone and muscle diseases
- Biofeedback may unlock stronger muscles in children with cerebral palsy