DBS-SCI Study

Walking and standing is a much more complex process than a healthy person is usually aware of. Numerous regions of the brain, brainstem, and spinal cord are involved in this process.
 
Following a spinal cord injury, for example due to an accident, many patients suffer from a reduced or absent ability to walk independently — a typical symptom of spinal cord paralysis. Most frequently, however, the injury does not completely affect the spinal cord, and some parts remain intact to allow for functional recovery. However, specialized networks located in the lower spinal cord, known as “central pattern generators,” receive too few signals from the brain to enable walking after injury, even though they themselves remain intact. 
This is where the study aims to build upon existing knowledge. The idea is to use electrical stimulation of a specific region of the brain (located in the so-called midbrain, more precisely the “mesencephalic locomotor region”) to engage the spinal cord fibers that have remained intact after the injury and, by enhancing the signal, activate the movement control centers in the spinal cord. In animal studies, it has already been demonstrated that rats with spinal cord injuries were able to walk again following stimulation, despite an 80% destruction of the spinal cord.As part of a collaboration between the University of Zurich, ETH Zurich, Balgrist University Hospital, the Swiss Paraplegic Centre, and University Hospital Zurich, we now aim to translate these findings into humans. The study has been approved by the cantonal ethics committee and by Swissmedic (BASEC No. 2016-01104) and is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03053791). We are currently looking for suitable patients to participate in the study.

(Adapted from Stieglitz and Hofer et al., BMJ Open, 2021)

Publications:

• Hofer AS, Scheuber MI, Sartori AM, Skorup I, Gascho D, Colacicco G, Kiseleva A, Curt A, Stieglitz LH, Schwab ME. Stereotactic rodent-to-human approximation of the mesencephalic cuneiform nucleus to guide deep brain stimulation. Brain Stimul. 2026 Mar-Apr;19(2):103066. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2026.103066. 
• Hofer AS, Stieglitz LH, Bolliger M, Filli L, Cathomen A, Willi R, Lerch I, Krüsi I, Giagiozis M, Meyer C, Schubert M, Hubli M, Kessler TM, Demkó L, Baumann CR, Imbach L, Oertel MF, Prusse A, Kiseleva A, Regli L, Schwab ME, Curt A. Cuneiform Nucleus Stimulation Can Assist Gait Training to Promote Locomotor Recovery in Individuals With Incomplete Tetraplegia. Ann Neurol. 2026 Jan;99(1):161-177. doi: 10.1002/ana.78026. 
• Stieglitz LH, Hofer AS, Bolliger M, Oertel MF, Filli L, Willi R, Cathomen A, Meyer C, Schubert M, Hubli M, Kessler TM, Baumann CR, Imbach L, Krüsi I, Prusse A, Schwab ME, Regli L, Curt A. Deep brain stimulation for locomotion in incomplete human spinal cord injury (DBS-SCI): protocol of a prospective one-armed multi-Center study. BMJ Open. 2021 Sep 30;11(9): e047670. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-047670

For further information:

- Flyer E (PDF, 445 KB) / D (PDF, 446 KB)

- ClinicalTrials.gov: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03053791

- Email: dbs-sci@balgrist.ch