Open AccessEnabling respiratory control after severe chronic tetraplegia: an exploratory case study
Author(s) -
Parag Gad,
Evgeniy Kreydin,
Hui Zhong,
V. Reggie Edgerton
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of neurophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.302
H-Index - 245
eISSN - 1522-1598
pISSN - 0022-3077
DOI - 10.1152/jn.00320.2020
Subject(s) - tetraplegia , neuromodulation , breathing , physical medicine and rehabilitation , medicine , control of respiration , psychology , spinal cord injury , respiratory system , anesthesia , neuroscience , stimulation , spinal cord
Respiratory dysfunction is one of the most debilitating effects of spinal cord injury (SCI) impacting the quality of life of patients and caregivers. In addition, breathing difficulties impact the rehabilitation routine a patient may potentially undergo. Transcutaneous electrical spinal cord neuromodulation (TESCoN) is a novel approach to reactivate and retrain spinal circuits after paralysis. We demonstrate that acute and chronic TESCoN therapy over the cervical spinal cord positively impacts the breathing and coughing ability in a patient with chronic tetraplegia. ln addition, we show that the improved breathing and coughing ability are not only observed in the presence of TESCoN but persisted for a few days after TESCoN was stopped. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Noninvasive spinal neuromodulation improves breathing and coughing in a patient with severe and complete tetraplegia.