Trial reportThe New England journal of medicine2018
Trial of Contralateral Seventh Cervical Nerve Transfer for Spastic Arm Paralysis.
Trial report in The New England journal of medicine, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04437056 (Outcome Measurements After Cognitive Nerve Transfers to Spastic Muscles in Stroke Patients), which is not on this map. Cited by 86 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Outcome Measurements After Cognitive Nerve Transfers to Spastic Muscles in Stroke Patients
Who cites it
86 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 210 citations in OpenAlex.
- Future research focus and trends in nerve transplantation: a bibliometrics research from 2015 to 2024.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Shockwave Therapy or Acupoint Stimulation Combined With Physiotherapy for Spasticity and Motor Function in Post-Stroke Recovery: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Brain and behavior · 2026Trial
- Right C7 neurotomy at the intervertebral foramen plus intensive speech and language therapy versus intensive speech and language therapy alone for chronic post-stroke aphasia: multicentre, randomised controlled trial.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2025Trial
- Review
- A novel contralateral ulnar nerve transfer model for selective muscle reinnervation in upper motor neuron syndrome.Neural regeneration research · 2026Article
- The evolving landscape of stroke interventions.Singapore medical journal · 2026Article
- Peripheral nerve pathway reconnections promote the reorganization of central motor representations.Science China. Life sciences · 2026Article
- [Research advances in nerve transfer for upper limb function restoration: applications from peripheral nerve injury to central nervous system injury].Zhongguo xiu fu chong jian wai ke za zhi = Zhongguo xiufu chongjian waike zazhi = Chinese journal of reparative and reconstructive surgery · 2026Review
- [Effectiveness of TZhongguo xiu fu chong jian wai ke za zhi = Zhongguo xiufu chongjian waike zazhi = Chinese journal of reparative and reconstructive surgery · 2026Article
- A novel mouse model simulating C5 palsy after cervical surgery.Animal models and experimental medicine · 2026Article
- Rapid functional reorganization of the targeted contralesional hemisphere induced by one week of noninvasive closed-loop neurofeedback guides motor recovery in post-stroke patients with chronic motor impairment: a phase I trial.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- Low-output lymphatic leakage after contralateral seventh cervical nerve cross transfer: a clinical and anatomical observation.Neurosurgical review · 2026Article
- [Progress in microsurgical repair and reconstruction techniques and development of microsurgery in China].Zhongguo xiu fu chong jian wai ke za zhi = Zhongguo xiufu chongjian waike zazhi = Chinese journal of reparative and reconstructive surgery · 2026Review
- Contralateral C7 nerve transfer combined with human acellular nerve allograft as a viable strategy for spastic upper limb paralysis.European journal of medical research · 2026Article
- T1 rhizotomy for post-stroke hand flexion spasticity: a preliminary report of 15 cases.Frontiers in surgery · 2026Article
- Observational
- The unlocked hand: A surgical-rehabilitative paradigm for post-stroke spasticity.Journal of hand and microsurgery · 2025Article
- A wireless optogenetic stimulation system for long-term function evaluation of mice forelimb with sub-nerve resolution.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Current techniques for the treatment of spasticity and their effectiveness.EFORT open reviews · 2025Article
26 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 7 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSpastic limb paralysis due to injury to a cerebral hemisphere can cause long-term disability. We investigated the effect of grafting the contralateral C7 nerve from the nonparalyzed side to the paralyzed side in patients with spastic arm paralysis due to chronic cerebral injury.
methodsWe randomly assigned 36 patients who had had unilateral arm paralysis for more than 5 years to undergo C7 nerve transfer plus rehabilitation (18 patients) or to undergo rehabilitation alone (18 patients). The primary outcome was the change from baseline to month 12 in the total score on the Fugl-Meyer upper-extremity scale (scores range from 0 to 66, with higher scores indicating better function). Results The mean increase in Fugl-Meyer score in the paralyzed arm was 17.7 in the surgery group and 2.6 in the control group (difference, 15.1; 95% confidence interval, 12.2 to 17.9; P<0.001). With regard to improvements in spasticity as measured on the Modified Ashworth Scale (an assessment of five joints, each scored from 0 to 5, with higher scores indicating more spasticity), the smallest between-group difference was in the thumb, with 6, 9, and 3 patients in the surgery group having a 2-unit improvement, a 1-unit improvement, or no change, respectively, as compared with 1, 6, and 7 patients in the control group (P=0.02). Transcranial magnetic stimulation and functional imaging showed connectivity between the ipsilateral hemisphere and the paralyzed arm. There were no significant differences from baseline to month 12 in power, tactile threshold, or two-point discrimination in the hand on the side of the donor graft.
resultsThe mean increase in Fugl-Meyer score in the paralyzed arm was 17.7 in the surgery group and 2.6 in the control group (difference, 15.1; 95% confidence interval, 12.2 to 17.9; P<0.001). With regard to improvements in spasticity as measured on the Modified Ashworth Scale (an assessment of five joints, each scored from 0 to 5, with higher scores indicating more spasticity), the smallest between-group difference was in the thumb, with 6, 9, and 3 patients in the surgery group having a 2-unit improvement, a 1-unit improvement, or no change, respectively, as compared with 1, 6, and 7 patients in the control group (P=0.02). Transcranial magnetic stimulation and functional imaging showed connectivity between the ipsilateral hemisphere and the paralyzed arm. There were no significant differences from baseline to month 12 in power, tactile threshold, or two-point discrimination in the hand on the side of the donor graft.
conclusionsIn this single-center trial involving patients who had had unilateral arm paralysis due to chronic cerebral injury for more than 5 years, transfer of the C7 nerve from the nonparalyzed side to the side of the arm that was paralyzed was associated with a greater improvement in function and reduction of spasticity than rehabilitation alone over a period of 12 months. Physiological connectivity developed between the ipsilateral cerebral hemisphere and the paralyzed hand. (Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and others; Chinese Clinical Trial Registry number, 13004466 .).
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.