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Beneficial Cardiac Structural and Functional Adaptations After Lumbosacral Spinal Cord Epidural Stimulation and Task-Specific Interventions: A Pilot Study

As published in Frontiers in Neuroscience

by lead author Dr. Bonnie E. Legg Ditterline

Four individuals with chronic, motor-complete cervical spinal cord injury were implanted with a stimulator over the lumbosacral enlargement. We assessed the cardiac structure and function before and after spinal cord epidural stimulation (scES) with task-specific interventions and found significant improvements to cardiac structure, systolic function, and diastolic function. Despite the pilot nature of this study, statistically significant improvements demonstrate scES interventions led to beneficial cardiac remodeling, which can reverse atrophic changes that result from spinal cord injury.

Long-term improvements to cardiac function have implications for increased quality of life and improved cardiovascular health in individuals with spinal cord injury, decreasing the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

This publication was authored by:

    • Bonnie E. Legg Ditterline, PhD
    • Shelley Wade, BA, RDCS
    • Beatrice Ugiliweneza, PhD, MSPH
    • Narayana Sarma Singam, MD
    • Susan J. Harkema, PhD
    • Marcus F. Stoddard, MD, FACC, FAHA, FASE
    • Glenn A. Hirsch, MD, MS, FACC

Read the Complete Article in Frontiers in Neuroscience.

Posted in Publications