Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30040753›Full record

Trial reportNeuroRehabilitation2018

The effect of transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation on corticospinal excitability in chronic incomplete spinal cord injury.

Elizabeth Salmon Powell, Cheryl Carrico, Emily Salyers, Philip M Westgate, Lumy Sawaki

Open access · hybridAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in NeuroRehabilitation, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
14citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 25% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Elizabeth Salmon PowellDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
Cheryl CarricoDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
Emily SalyersDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
Philip M WestgateDepartment of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
Lumy SawakiDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
University of Kentucky · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesThis study investigated the feasibility of modulating bilateral corticospinal excitability with different polarities of transcutaneous spinal direct current stimulation (tsDCS) in chronic, incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI).

methodsSix subjects with chronic incomplete SCI (>12 months post injury) participated in this crossover study. Intervention consisted of 3 sessions, separated by at least 1 week, in which each subject received the conditions cathodal, anodal, and sham tsDCS. Stimulation was delivered at 2.5 mA for 20 minutes with the active electrode positioned over the spinous processes of T10-T11 and the reference electrode over left deltoid. To measure the effects of tsDCS on corticospinal excitability, motor evoked potentials (MEPs) from transcranial magnetic stimulation were measured bilaterally from soleus before and after tsDCS.

resultsFive subjects completed all 3 sessions. One subject withdrew after 2 sessions due to complications unrelated to the study. MEPs were measurable in 5 subjects. No significant differences in change of MEP amplitudes were found between the 3 conditions. However, there were trends that indicated laterality of response, particularly with cathodal tsDCS increasing corticospinal excitability contralateral to the reference electrode and decreasing corticospinal excitability ipsilateral to the reference electrode.

conclusionCorticospinal excitability may be modulated with laterality by tsDCS in individuals with chronic, incomplete SCI. Further research is needed to 1) determine whether different placement of the reference electrode can lead to uniform modulation bilaterally, and 2) reveal whether these alterations in corticospinal excitability can lead to improved movement function in individuals with chronic, incomplete SCI.

Indexed as

AdultEvoked Potentials, MotorFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeurological RehabilitationPyramidal TractsSpinal Cord InjuriesSpinal Cord Stimulationhumanslower extremityNeuromodulationneuroplasticitytranscranial magnetic stimulation

Identifiers

PMID30040753
PMCPMC6130412
OpenAlexW2884089074

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

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.