New hope for better sleep after spinal injury
NCT ID NCT02922894
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jul 02, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study tests three approaches—oxygen therapy, the drug trazodone, and brief low-oxygen episodes—to see if they can improve sleep apnea in people with chronic cervical spinal cord injury. Researchers will measure changes in breathing and sleep quality in 100 participants. The goal is to find a safe, effective way to ease sleep-disordered breathing in this population.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Trazodone, supplemental oxygen, and acute episodic hypoxia
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could point toward a simple treatment to improve sleep and breathing in people with spinal cord injury.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-phase study with only 100 participants, and the treatments may not work or could cause side effects like drowsiness or discomfort.
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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Phase 4
Runs after approval, following long-term safety and how well the treatment works in everyday use.
- Participants
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About 100 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2017
- Expected to finish
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Jan 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A government agency
The lead sponsor is a US federal agency other than the NIH.
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 89 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: 1. healthy adults between the ages of 18 - 89 2. chronic spinal cord injury patients (T6 and above), \> 3 months since injury and not on mechanical ventilation, and have not received mechanical ventilation via tracheostomy in the past. Exclusion Criteria: 1. subjects ≤ 17 yrs old 2. Pregnant and lactating females 3. History of head trauma that resulted in neurological symptoms or loss of consciousness 4. advanced heart, lung, metabolic, liver or chronic kidney disease. 5. severe obstructive or restrictive respiratory defect by PFTs or history of tracheostomy 6. extreme obesity defined for this protocol as BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2 (to avoid the effect of morbid obesity on ventilation).
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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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John D. Dingell VA Medical Center
RECRUITINGDetroit, Michigan, 48201, United States
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