CClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT00628836Updated Jun 3, 2015

Treatment of Shoulder Subluxation in Chronic Stroke Patients

A Phase 1 interventional study of BION stimulation in Shoulder Dislocation, sponsored by University of Southern California. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 85 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2015-06-03.

Sponsored by University of Southern California · Phase 1, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
30
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 85 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The study looks at treatments for reversing chronic shoulder subluxation after a stroke. It compares electrical stimulation with surface electrodes (stimulation through the skin) with intra-muscular stimulation (from inside the muscle)using an implanted micro-stimulator (BION). Subjects are put either in a surface stimulation or a BION® group. In the BION® group, two BION®s are implanted in the shoulder, the medial deltoid and supraspinatus muscles. Treatment consists of a baseline of 6 weeks, and 6 weeks of therapy, consisting of 2 sessions per day for 10 to 30 minutes each time. This is followed by 6 weeks without therapy. If testing shows that after 6 weeks of therapy there is no reversal of subluxation, more intense therapy is carried out for another 6 weeks. Treatment is similar in the surface electrode group, but surface electrodes deliver the stimulation instead of BION®s. A total of 30 subjects is expected to complete the study.

Read the detailed description

The BION™ is a novel implantable neuromuscular stimulator whose intended use in this study is to reanimate the shoulder muscles of stroke survivors with shoulder subluxation. Strokes are considered to be the most important cause of adult disability in North America, with 500,000 new cases per year in the U.S. (National Stroke Association) and 45,000 in Canada (Langton-Hewer, 1990; Shuaib \& Hachinski, 1991). Three-quarters of these patients survive and half of the survivors have substantial muscle weakness after 6 months (Gresham et al., 1979) with little chance of spontaneous recovery (Anderson, 1990; Bonita \& Beaglehole, 1988). The most commonly affected region in the early phases of recovery is the shoulder; 80% of hemiplegic stroke patients suffer from shoulder subluxation and associated chronic pain (Smith et al., 1980). The shoulder muscles that are normally active tonically are flaccidly paralyzed; the weight of the pendant arm gradually stretches and damages the atrophic muscles and ligaments, allowing the head of the humerus to descend out of the glenoid fossa. This results in chronic shoulder pain that is difficult to treat and tends to obstruct physical therapy directed toward regaining some use of the paretic arm. Our hypothesis is that electrical stimulation delivered by the BIONs should be fundamentally equivalent to muscle activation achieved voluntarily or by transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), but that the BIONs will prove to be a more clinically acceptable and effective approach. The BION system consists of the BION implants themselves, a controller that is operated by the study participant, and fitting hardware and software used by the clinician to implant, test, and program BION function.

In this study, the BION will be used to reanimate the shoulder muscles of stroke survivors experiencing shoulder subluxation. The objective of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of intramuscular stimulation of BIONs to correct established, symptomatic shoulder subluxation in chronic stroke survivors. The results of intramuscular stimulation by BIONs will be compared with the results of treatment with conventional therapy: surface stimulation.

Degree of shoulder subluxation will be the primary outcome measure for the study. We have included other (secondary) outcome measures (i.e., muscle strength, range of motion, functional activity, spasticity/tone, subject satisfaction and pain) which may reveal secondary benefits of treatment with BIONs. The investigation is expected to last up to 21 weeks for each study participant. The study will be completed over a 5-year period.

02

Conditions studied

  • Shoulder Dislocation

Browse trials for

Keywords

  • Neuromuscular stimulator
  • Shoulder subluxation
03

In context

Shoulder Dislocation

103 studies on the registry are indexed under Shoulder Dislocation; 23 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 30 is below the median of 60 across 70 interventional studies indexed under Shoulder Dislocation.

Browse Shoulder Dislocation studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Southern California is the lead sponsor of 773 studies on the registry; 135 are open to participants now.

Of its 68 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 32 (47%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 85 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:1.

  1. Diagnosis of hemiplegic stroke at least 6 months prior to enrollment;
  2. Paresis of the shoulder muscles;
  3. Shoulder subluxation (i.e., a positive sulcus sign of 5 mm or more);
  4. Age 18 years or older;
  5. Stable use of pain medication for at least one month prior to enrollment;
  6. Medically stable;
  7. Able to travel to the testing center;
  8. Mentally capable to understand and carry out the procedures and communicate concerns; and
  9. Willing to participate and provide informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Pregnant, nursing, or planning to become pregnant within the next four months;
  2. Presence of electronic implants (e.g., cardiac pacemaker, cochlear implant, neurostimulator, etc.);
  3. Presence of metallic implants in the immediate field of the magnetic coil:
  4. Use of using electrical stimulation for treatment of their subluxed shoulder in the past month;
  5. Inability to recruit muscles through surface electrical stimulation because of excessive adipose tissue;
  6. Presence of other unrelated shoulder problems;
  7. Severe hemineglect ( patient is unable to acknowledge or answer questions about the involved limb)
  8. Cancer or other serious illness, including a disease other then stroke resulting in dysfunction of movement.
  9. Subject is currently enrolled in another clinical trial or research study that involves therapy or intervention to the upper limb.
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
30 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Active comparator
    SE group

    surface stimulation

    Device: BION stimulation

  • Experimental
    BE group

    BION stimulation

    Device: BION stimulation

Interventions

  • DeviceBION stimulation

    The study will have two phases, each with a six week duration. During phase 1, the BION group will be implanted with BIONs in the middle deltoid and supraspinatus muscles. The muscles will be stimulated electrically by way of the BION and an external controller for one to two hours per day at 5pps in an on-off duty cycle train. The SE group will begin surface stimulation similar to that of BE group. Subjects in either group whose initial therapy in phase 1 successfully reduces the amount of shoulder subluxation to 5mm or less will go off stimulation for six weeks, and be reassessed whether subluxation is redeveloping. If a subject in either group does not respond sufficiently to phase 1 therapy, the participant will move to phase 2 where the shoulder will be stimulated at up to 25 pps either with surface stimulation (SE group) or BION stimulation (BE group) for another six weeks. At the end of phase 2, participants will go off stimulation for six weeks and then be reevaluated.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Degree of shoulder subluxation by x-ray

    Time frame: 6 weeks

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Rancho Los Angeles National Rehabilitation Center
    Downey, California 90242, United States
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Loeb GE, Richmond FJ, Baker LL. The BION devices: injectable interfaces with peripheral nerves and muscles. Neurosurg Focus. 2006 May 15;20(5):E2. doi: 10.3171/foc.2006.20.5.3. PubMed 16711659 ↗
09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jun 3, 2015, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00628836
Lead sponsor
University of Southern California
Responsible party
Gerald E. Loeb, M.D. (Professor, University of Southern California) — Principal investigator
First posted
Mar 5, 2008
Start date
Jun 2001
Primary completion
Dec 2008
Completion
Dec 2008
Last update
Jun 3, 2015

Study contacts

Lucinda Baker, M.D.
principal investigator · University of Southern California

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Jun 2015. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion