Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology (Feb 2022)

Epidural stimulation with locomotor training ameliorates unstable blood pressure after tetraplegia. A case report

  • Ashraf S. Gorgey,
  • Tommy W. Sutor,
  • Jacob A. Goldsmith,
  • Areej N. Ennasr,
  • Timothy D. Lavis,
  • David X. Cifu,
  • Robert Trainer

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/acn3.51508
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 2
pp. 232 – 238

Abstract

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Abstract A male with C7 complete tetraplegia participated in 14 weeks of body weight supported treadmill training (BWSTT) combined with spinal cord epidural stimulation (SCES), 4 weeks of no intervention, and two more weeks of BWSTT + SCES. The participant presented with unstable resting seated blood pressure (BP; 131/66 mmHg). After retrospective analysis, resting systolic BP decreased and diastolic BP increased, yielding a safe mean arterial BP. There was a fivefold increase in BWSTT bouts per session, and percentage of body weight support decreased to 69%. BWSTT + SCES safely and effectively regulated resting BP and mitigated symptoms of orthostatic intolerance. These effects were not maintained after 4 weeks without training.