ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT04005937Updated Jul 23, 2019

Optimal Interstimulus Interval For Consecutive H-Reflex Responses In Patients With Spasticity

An interventional study of H-reflex in Muscle Hypertonia and Reflex, Abnormal, sponsored by Istanbul Physical Medicine Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital. Completed at 2 sites in Turkey. Open to participants aged 20 Years to 80 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-07-23.

Sponsored by Istanbul Physical Medicine Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
16
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
20 Years to 80 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This study evaluates the optimal interstimulus interval for consecutive H-reflex responses in patients with spasticity.

Read the detailed description

This study will include 15 patients with spastic stroke patients H-reflex with different interstimulus interval of the plegic side soleus muscle will be tested.

Subjects lay comfortably in the supine position on an examination bed. The subject will be asked not to contract the lower extremity muscles during the experiment. Surface EMG (SEMG) will be recorded from the plegic side soleus muscle using bipolar electrodes. These electrodes will be placed on the soleus muscle according to the SENIAM guideline.The reference electrode will be placed on medial malleolus. Prior to electrode placement, the skin will be shaved, lightly abraded, and cleaned with alcohol wipes. Self-adhesive, disposable, Ag-AgCl disc electrodes with a disc radius of 10 mm (KENDALL® Arbo; Coviden; Massachusetts, USA) will be used. To prevent the sway of electrode cables, it will be fixed to the body. SEMG and stimulator data will be obtained by using a data acquisition system (POWERLAB® ADInstruments Co, Oxford, United Kingdom). Sampling rate will be 10 kHz.

The recorded data will be processed and analyzed offline using LabChart7® Software Version V7.3.3 (PowerLab® system ADInstruments, Oxford, United Kingdom).

A cathode (5×5 mm) will be placed at the midpoint of popliteal fossa and an anode (10×10 cm) will be placed immediately proximal to the patella to evoke the H-reflex for monopolar stimulation of the posterior tibial nerve. A monophasic electrical current will be delivered as square pulses with a width of 1 ms by using a stimulator (FE155 Stimulator HC ADInstrument, Oxford UK). Taking into consideration study of Ozyurt et al, interstimulus interval will be selected as 10 seconds for determining the maximum H-reflex (Hmax). Then, Hmax and M-response (Mmax) will be determined.

We will be tested four different ISI (10s, 5s, 3s and 1s) for stroke patients in this study. The stimulus intensity for tested H-reflex will be selected as a constant stimulus strength that will be 50 percent of the Hmax.

Thirty consecutive stimuli will be delivered in separate sets for each tested ISI of 10, 5, 3 and 1s. The ISI sets will be tested in random order to negate any order effect. There will be a 15s of interval between sets.

SEMG recordings will be filtered using a bandpass filter from 5 to 500 Hz. Then the peak-to-peak (P-P) amplitudes of H-reflex will be measured then normalized using by two different methods to estimate H-reflex suppression due to consecutive stimuli. In the first method, P-P amplitude of the first H-reflex response will be used as a control, and P-P amplitude of the second H-reflex response will be normalized by using the control for each ISI set. Thus, HPP2 / HPP1 ratio will be calculated. Similar to the previous method, the first H-reflex response will be used as the control in the second method. Unlike the first method, not only the second H-reflex response, but the remaining 29 H-responses will be normalized to the first H-response. P-P amplitude of the 29 normalized H-reflex responses will be averaged and HPP29/HPP1 ratio will be calculated.

The peak-to-peak amplitude of the first H-reflex response will be measured then normalized to the Mmax (HPP1/Mmax) to compare H-reflexes between subjects and conditions.

02

Conditions studied

  • Muscle Hypertonia
  • Reflex, Abnormal

Keywords

  • muscle spindle
  • H reflex
  • spasticity
03

In context

Muscle Hypertonia

46 studies on the registry are indexed under Muscle Hypertonia; 6 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 16 is below the median of 33 across 26 interventional studies indexed under Muscle Hypertonia.

Browse Muscle Hypertonia studies →

Lead sponsor

Istanbul Physical Medicine Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital is the lead sponsor of 123 studies on the registry; 26 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
20 Years to 80 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Cerebrovascular stroke
  • Both sex

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Duration after stroke is less than 20 days
  • Lesions in calf skin
  • Excessive spasticity (Ashworth 4) / Contracture (foot joint)
  • Absent of soleus spasticity
  • Peripheral nerve diseases / muscle diseases
  • Absent of H-reflex
  • Botulinum toxin injection within last 12 weeks
  • Anxiety
  • Patients with pain on test day
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Basic science
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
16 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    H-reflex

    H-reflex with different interstimulus interval of the plegic side soleus muscle were tested

    Diagnostic Test: H-reflex

Interventions

  • Diagnostic testH-reflex

    Electrical stimulation of Group Ia afferent of muscle spindle

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. H-reflex suppression

    Change in H-reflex amplitude throughout consecutive stimuli

    Time frame: 1 day

07

Study locations

2 sites
  • stanbul Physical Medicine Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital
    Istanbul, Bahçelievler 34186, Turkey
  • Istanbul Physical Medicine Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital
    Istanbul, Turkey
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Ran from Jun 2019 to primary completion in Jul 2019, 0 months.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Jun 30, 2019
First posted
Jul 2, 2019
StartActual
Jun 30, 2019
Primary completionActual
Jul 17, 2019
CompletionActual
Jul 17, 2019
Last update
Jul 23, 2019
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jul 23, 2019, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04005937
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jul 2, 2019
Start date
Jun 30, 2019
Primary completion
Jul 17, 2019
Completion
Jul 17, 2019
Last update
Jul 23, 2019

Study contacts

Dilara Ekici, MD
principal investigator · stanbul Physical Medicine Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital Istanbul

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Jul 2019. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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