Project: Repurposing Acute Therapies for Enhanced Recovery after Spinal Cord Injury
| Acronym | RATER SCI |
| Duration | 01/02/2017 - 30/01/2020 |
| Project Topic | The fundamental premise of the proposed study challenges this notion: we contend that pain and/or pain medications impact motor recovery and that motor deficits impact pain. Because of the complex relationship between movement and pain, interventions to manage pain might be repurposed to enhance motor outcomes and, vice versa, interventions intended to improve motor outcomes may relieve pain. Our specific aims are to determine whether: 1) pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions used to manage neuropathic pain increase recovery of muscle strength and 2) rehabilitation interventions targeting motor recovery can be repurposed to relieve neuropathic pain. The primary pharmacological focus is anticonvulsants, a front-line treatment for neuropathic pain. Non-pharmacological approaches include transcranial direct current stimulation and locomotor training. Coordinated by Dr. John Kramer at ICORD (International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, University of British Columbia), the Consortium will include five leading spinal cord injury centres spanning two continents and four countries (Canada, Germany, and Spain plus an in-kind contribution from Switzerland). Experimental approaches incorporate statistical analysis of existing data resources (Drs. Curt and Kramer, Switzerland and Canada, respectively), work in rodent models (Dr. Bradke, Germany), and translational clinical investigations in humans (Drs. Mercier and Soler, Quebec, Canada and Spain, respectively). |
| Network | NEURON Cofund |
| Call | Call for Proposals for "European Research Projects on External Insults to the Nervous System" |
Project partner
| Number | Name | Role | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The University of British Columbia | Coordinator | Canada |
| 2 | University Hospital Balgrist | Partner | Switzerland |
| 3 | German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE e.V.) | Partner | Germany |
| 4 | Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration | Partner | Canada |
| 5 | Institut Guttmann | Partner | Spain |