Clinical trials

This is a prospective study involving all patients treated at the University of Kentucky for spinal epidural abscess over a 2-year period. Based on ongoing referrals of patients with SEA, we expect that 200 patients will be enrolled during this time window. We propose to study all available clinical, pathological, radiological, and socioeconomic data of patients diagnosed with a spinal infection with or without a history of drug abuse over this study period. All patients' charts will be prospectively reviewed starting at the time of presentation for a period of 1 year.

To create a research repository of patients with known degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) and a control cohort of subjects who have non-myelopathic spinal disease. This repository will be used to assess functional and/or biological measures that may allow for improved prediction of symptomatic progression and response to treatment in patients with DCM. In addition, this repository will be used to develop a risk assessment scale to accurately predict functional outcomes following operative management of DCM.

To assess the safety and efficacy of using oral Glyburide (Diabeta) as a neuroprotective agent in patients with acute cervical or thoracic traumatic spinal cord injury.

This is a single-blinded (with outcome assessors blinded to treatment allocation), 12-month pilot study to evaluate of the safety, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy of dorsal myelotomy and expansive duraplasty performed either without or with autologous nerve graft implantation after acute traumatic spinal cord injury. Ten participants will be allocated to receive either DMED (n=5) or DMED + ANGI (n=5) based on a block design. Participants and assessors will be blinded to group allocation. Excess sural nerve samples will be collected for banking/analysis (may include proteomic, culturing, genomic, cellular analysis).

Establish a data repository of patients who have undergone single, two-, or three-level lumbar instrumented arthrodesis procedures supplemented by the Implanet Jazz System.

The study will be a non-randomized, non-blinded pilot study to analyze the safety and feasibility of a non-significant risk device, transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation. The aim is to include 30 total patients, 10 patients in each of 3 groups: 1. Non-traumatic spinal cord injury (ntSCI) with diagnosis of degenerative cervical myelopathy and offered surgical intervention. 2. Early tSCI screened during the hospital admission when cervical/thoracic spinal injury was diagnosed. 3. Delayed tSCI (control) screened 6-24 months after acute cervical/thoracic spinal injury.