The research

Cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) is a frequent occurrence in humans, causing debilitating somatic motor function. The leading cause of death in SCI patients is the respiratory failure associated with impaired motor function. To date, no effective treatment is available to ameliorate the respiratory function. One promising innovative non-invasive therapeutic strategy consists in neuromodulating the spared spinal respiratory descending pathways with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to enhance neural activity and neuroplasticity. We study the physiological (respiratory restoration) and cellular/molecular plasticity that occur following chronic application of rTMS in a preclinical model of respiratory insufficiency we have developped. The outcome of our research using rTMS as a therapeutic tool is the development of a treatment that may be safe, non-invasive and easy to apply. The range of applications based on this neuromodulatory technique might open a new era of research and development in the SCI treatment efficacy.