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Current Research Activities

As a NIDRR-funded Model Spinal Cord Injury System, the NWRSCIS is mandated to engage in three types of research activities: contributing data to the National SCI Model System database, conducting a site-specific study, and participating in a multi-site module study. The following studies are being conducted during the 2006-2011 NIDRR grant cycle.

National SCI Model System Database

Newly injured patients with SCI are invited to become part of a longitudinal national database of SCI patients. This information is used to further understanding of the long-term consequences of SCI and to develop improved treatments and systems of care. To protect patient privacy, identifying information is not collected. Currently the database, centered at the National SCI Statistical Center, contains information on more than 24,000 cases since 1973.

Site-specific study – “SCI-Link”(Linking people with SCI to health resources)

Many people with SCI tell us that the first year after discharge from rehabilitation is very difficult because they have so many questions and new problems to solve but don’t always know where to find the information they need. To address this, we designed a study to determine whether providing regularly scheduled telephone follow-up calls to people with SCI after discharge can help them get the care they need, solve problems that arise, and avoid the medical complications that people often experience during their first year after SCI.

Multi-site module study – “Adapt”

There are many myths about adaptation to SCI, such as the belief everyone must go through a grief process or everyone gets depressed. We hope to improve how we assist people with SCI by gathering information on what people experience after SCI, what treatments they receive and how they view their own health physically and emotionally over time. This study follows people from inpatient rehabilitation to one year after injury.

The effects of venlafaxine XR (Effexor XR) after SCI – "PRISMS" (Project to Improve Symptoms and Mood after SCI).

One out of five people with SCI report problems with sleep, poor energy, low mood, loss of interest and appetite changes. These symptoms may result in part from stress-related changes in brain chemistry. Antidepressant medications such as venlafaxine XR (Effexor XR) are designed to rebalance brain chemistry and improve these basic biological functions. Despite widespread use of antidepressants, they have never been proven to be effective in people with SCI. We will study the effect of venlafaxine XR on these symptoms and on pain in people who are at least one year post-SCI. Participants will be randomized to receive a 12-week course of either venlafaxine XR or a placebo. Those who receive placebo and remain symptomatic at the end of the trial will be offered free treatment with venlafaxine XR. This study is scheduled to begin in late spring. For more information about this study, please call our research staff at 800-366-5643 (toll-free).

Collaborative Upper Limb Pain (CULP-SCI)

This is a three-site collaborative study funded by the NIDRR Model SCI Systems program and centered at the University of Pittsburgh. This study is examining the manual wheelchair propulsion and transfer techniques used by people with SCI that over time may be contributing to the high incidence of disabling upper limb pain in this population. The Seattle arm of the study is directed by Dr. Michael Chang, associate professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. In the UW's state-of-the-art Human Motion Analysis Laboratory, subjects undergo initial biomechanical studies that measure the mechanics of their wheelchair techniques. Following that, subjects participate in periodic telephone interviews that monitor upper limb pain and disability over a five year period. This prospective natural history study hopes to identify those manual wheelchair techniques that are harmful in the long-run, and those that help users avoid upper limb pain and disability. For more information, contact Zachary Ashwell at 206-543-3720 or Robert Price, 206-543-3720. A recent article about this study can be found at http://depts.washington.edu/rehab/sci/updates/05arm_shoulder_pain.html.

Clinical Outcomes of Spinal Cord Injury: A retrospective review

Directed by Sohail Mirza, associate professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, this study is examining spinal cord injury cases that occured between 2003 and 2005 to determine whether earlier spine surgery results in better outcomes than later surgery, how much improvement occurs with earlier intervention, and what is the complication rate. This study hopes to shed light on the controversy over whether it is preferable to perform surgery very soon after injury, before further damage occurs, or later, after the patient has stabilized and risks from surgery have declined.

2000-2005 NWRSCIS research activities