Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39819187›Full record

ArticleThe journal of spinal cord medicine2025

Responsiveness to transcutaneous spinal stimulation for upper extremity recovery following spinal cord injury: A case series exploration of midsagittal tissue bridges.

Andrew C Smith, Clare Morey, Wesley A Thornton, Jordan R Connor, Dario Pfyffer, Kenneth A Weber Ii, Kristin Will, Candace Tefertiller

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The journal of spinal cord medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
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

8 authors.

Andrew C SmithDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5020-8094
Clare MoreyCraig Hospital, Englewood, Colorado, USA.
Wesley A ThorntonDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
Jordan R ConnorDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
Dario PfyfferDepartment of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, USA.
Kenneth A Weber IiDepartment of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, USA.
Kristin WillCraig Hospital, Englewood, Colorado, USA.
Candace TefertillerCraig Hospital, Englewood, Colorado, USA.

Funding

MRI-Derived Neuromuscular Signatures to Predict Surgical Response in Degenerative Cervical MyelopathyR01NS128478 · NINDS · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI Kenneth Arnold Weber · 2023 to 2026
$2.2M
Improving mechanistic understanding of responsiveness to spinal cord stimulation after spinal cord injuryK01HD106928 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · PI SMITH, ANDREW CRAIG · 2022 to 2025
$508k
NICHD NIH HHS K01 HD106928NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS128478
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

contextTranscutaneous spinal stimulation (TSS), applied to the cervical spine, is able to improve voluntary upper extremity strength and function in individuals with cervical spinal cord injury (SCI). While most respond and improve in the presence of TSS, others do not respond as favorably. Midsagittal tissue bridges, adjacent to the lesion, can be observed and measured using T

methodsThis study involved six research participants who completed a clinical trial of rehabilitation paired with TSS to improve upper extremity strength and function. Ventral and dorsal midsagittal tissue bridges were quantified using T

resultsThree participants classified as both strength and function responders showed presence of ventral tissue bridges, while the three strength-only responders did not. The same was found for dorsal tissue bridges, except for one strength-only responder that had a dorsal tissue bridge.

conclusionsThe findings of this case series shed light onto the potential importance of midsagittal tissue bridges - a proxy for spared sensorimotor tracts - for responsiveness to TSS for upper extremity recovery following SCI.

Indexed as

Recovery of FunctionSpinal Cord InjuriesTranscutaneous Electric Nerve StimulationUpper ExtremityAdultFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedMidsagittal tissue bridgeSpinal cord injuryTranscutaneous spinal stimulation

Identifiers

PMID39819187
PMCPMC12329827

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.