Researchers Uncover Way to Regulate Blood Pressure Post-Spinal Cord Injury

Researchers from the University of Calgary have developed a platform that can be used to understand the mechanisms that cause blood pressure instability after a spinal cord injury. Their findings have led to the creation of spinal cord stimulators that can be used to link the autonomous regulation system of an individual’s body, thus controlling blood pressure without using drugs.

Grégoire Courtine from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and Dr. Aaron Phillips from Cumming School of Medicine (“CSM”) at the University of Calgary, co-led the global study, whose results were reported in “Nature.”

The study’s findings are life changing for individuals living with spinal cord injuries. Phillips, an assistant professor and co-principal investigator at the CSM, explained that an individual’s spinal cord works as a communication line that allows the brain to send signals to the body, telling it how to manage important functions such blood pressure regulation, in addition to telling it how and when to move. However, sustaining a spinal cord injury breaks the line of communication.

The first study participant in a set of clinical trials that are planned for Switzerland and Calgary is Dr. Richi Gill. Gill broke his neck three years ago in a boogie board accident that resulted in a spinal cord injury; he has since recovered. Gill explained that a spinal cord injury hinders some systems in the body from regulating functions normally, which severely affects an individual’s quality of life.

Courtine stated that the research team would be partnering up with Onward to create a neurostimulation system that will be used to control blood pressure for individuals who have sustained a spinal cord injury.

To stabilize hemodynamics during their study, the researchers used targeted epidural electrical stimulation (“EES”) of the spinal cord, which allowed vital organs to maintain a suitable blood supply.

Dr. Sean Dukelow, the author of the study and a clinician scientist at CMS, stated that the research team was excited that individuals living with spinal cord injuries would be able to discontinue their blood pressure medication and go back to enjoying an everyday regimen with better blood flow to their organs and brain. He added that the individuals were able to stay upright in their wheelchairs without losing consciousness while also feeling more alert. In the long term, he says, the researchers believe that this will decrease the risk of stroke and heart disease.

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