ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT05467215Updated Sep 11, 2026

Can Brief Exposure to Hyperoxia Improve Function After Chronic Spinal Cord Injury?

An Early Phase 1 interventional study of Pure oxygen (99%) from Praxair, Edmonton, DIN# 02014408 in Spinal Cord Injuries, sponsored by University of Alberta. Recruiting at 1 site in Canada. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-11.

Sponsored by University of Alberta · Early Phase 1, Interventional, and Other

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Jul 2022; still recruiting 4 years 4 months later.
Phase
Early Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
25
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This proof-of-principle study will determine if breathing an increased concentration of oxygen above the concentration in normal room air results in changes in the sensory and motor function in people with subacute or chronic, severe spinal cord injury (SCI).

Read the detailed description

This proof-of-principle study will include a small number of participants with subacute or chronic (>3 months post-injury), severe spinal cord injury (i.e., AIS A, B or C). After screening for potential contraindications, participants will attend 4 experimental sessions. In each session, their sensory or reflex function will be tested at regular intervals. Once baseline recordings are established, participants will be given either room air or 99% oxygen to breathe through a face mask for 2 minutes. It will be determined if breathing 99% oxygen results in a change in the sensory and motor functions recorded before and shortly after breathing oxygen.

Administration of a high concentration of oxygen at atmospheric pressure for a short duration has been completed without adverse effects in healthy individuals, and individuals with various forms of injury including chronic obstructive lung disease, traumatic brain injury, stroke, and spinal cord injury. Duration of administration has ranged from 3 min to 4 hours without adverse effects.

If this initial trial indicates that improvements in sensory and motor function are induced by this short exposure, exploration of therapeutic ways to increase blood flow to the spinal cord will be undertaken

02

Conditions studied

  • Spinal Cord Injuries

Keywords

  • Hypoxia
  • Hyperoxia
  • Reflex
  • Sensation
03

In context

Spinal Cord Injuries

2,025 studies on the registry are indexed under Spinal Cord Injuries; 537 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 25 is close to the median of 24 across 1,633 interventional studies indexed under Spinal Cord Injuries.

Browse Spinal Cord Injuries studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Alberta is the lead sponsor of 823 studies on the registry; 169 are open to participants now.

Of its 5 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 3 (60%) have results posted.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 65 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

  1. Individuals with traumatic SCI with onset ≥3 months prior,
  2. Between 18 - 65 yr old,
  3. ASIA Impairment Scale at discharge classified as A, B or C,
  4. Injury level between C5 and T10,
  5. Able to give informed, written consent.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Frequent uncontrolled autonomic dysreflexia,
  2. Uncontrolled high blood pressure,
  3. Cardiac or cardiovascular disease,
  4. Cancer,
  5. Active urinary tract infection,
  6. Active pressure sores,
  7. Signs of deep vein thrombosis in the legs,
  8. Severe swelling of the feet and/or legs,
  9. Severe cognitive impairment,
  10. Pulmonary dysfunction such as or acute respiratory infection,
  11. Any condition which would be exacerbated by sitting or lying in one position for 2 hours, such as low back pain
  12. Pregnancy.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: long-term lung disease that makes it hard to breathe out, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

05

Study design

Phase
Early Phase 1
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Crossover assignment
Masking
Double (Participant, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
25 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Hyperoxia followed by room air

    Group 1 will receive oxygen (99%) in Phase 1, and room air (placebo) in Phase 2. Each phase will consist of 2 experiments. In Phase 1, the first experiment will test skin sensation using von Frey Hairs, while the second experiment will test a cutaneous reflex. In Phase 2, the first experiment will test the cutaneous reflex, while the second experiment will test skin sensation with von Frey Hairs. Both high oxygen and room air will be delivered through a face mask. The flow rate will be 10 litres/min for a 2-min period. Participants and experimenters will be blinded to the intervention. Measures will be taken before and after each exposure. In this way, each participant will be involved in four experimental sessions with a minimum of 2-week intervals between every testing session. Each experimental session will take approximately 1.5 to 2 hours. A total duration of involvement in the study is a minimum of 7 weeks.

    Drug: Pure oxygen (99%) from Praxair, Edmonton, DIN# 02014408

  • Placebo comparator
    Room air followed by hyperoxia

    Group 2 will receive room air (placebo) in Phase 1, and oxygen (99%) in Phase 2. Each phase will consist of 2 experiments. In Phase 1, the first experiment will test the cutaneous reflex, while the second experiment will test skin sensation with von Frey Hairs. In Phase 2, the first experiment will test skin sensation using von Frey Hairs, while the second experiment will test a cutaneous reflex. Both high oxygen and room air will be delivered through a face mask approved by Health Canada. The flow rate will be 10 litres/min for a 2-min period. Participants and experimenters will be blinded to the intervention. Measures will be taken before and after each exposure.In this way, each participant will be involved in four experimental sessions with a minimum of 2-week intervals between every testing session. Each experimental session will take approximately 1.5 to 2 hours. A total duration of involvement in the study is a minimum of 7 weeks.

    Drug: Pure oxygen (99%) from Praxair, Edmonton, DIN# 02014408

Interventions

  • DrugPure oxygen (99%) from Praxair, Edmonton, DIN# 02014408

    Participants will receive oxygen (99%) or room air (placebo) delivered through a face mask at a flow rate of 10 litres/min for 2 minutes. The participants will be exposed twice to both conditions over 4 experiments at a minimum of 2 week intervals between each testing session.

    Also known as: Compressed air from Praxair, DIN# 02014483

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Skin Sensation

    Quantification using von Frey Hairs at three locations above and below the level of injury.

    Time frame: Pre-intervention (exposure to high oxygen)

  2. Skin Sensation

    Quantification using von Frey Hairs at three locations above and below the level of injury.

    Time frame: Immediately after intervention (exposure to high oxygen)

  3. Skin Sensation

    Quantification using von Frey Hairs at three locations above and below the level of injury.

    Time frame: Pre-intervention (exposure to room air)

  4. Skin Sensation

    Quantification using von Frey Hairs at three locations above and below the level of injury.

    Time frame: Immediately after intervention (exposure to room air)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Reflex Excitability

    Elicited by electrical stimulation of the skin on the arch of the foot and measured by surface electromyography (EMG).

    Time frame: Pre-intervention (exposure to high oxygen)

  2. Reflex Excitability

    Elicited by electrical stimulation of the skin on the arch of the foot and measured by surface electromyography (EMG).

    Time frame: Immediately after intervention (exposure to high oxygen)

  3. Reflex Excitability

    Elicited by electrical stimulation of the skin on the arch of the foot and measured by surface electromyography (EMG).

    Time frame: Pre-intervention (exposure to room air)

  4. Reflex Excitability

    Elicited by electrical stimulation of the skin on the arch of the foot and measured by surface electromyography (EMG).

    Time frame: Immediately after intervention (exposure to room air)

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • University of Alberta, Clinical Sciences Bldg
    Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2B7, Canada
    Recruiting
08

References and documents

Study documents

PDFs hosted by the registry, ClinicalTrials.gov.

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Started Jul 2022 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Dec 2026, 53 months after the start.

Of 40 non-industry phase 1 interventional studies under Spinal Cord Injuries, half reached primary completion within 38 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 25 and three quarters within 55. This study's planned 53 months is above that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 51 studies reached it within 36 months; a quarter within 24 and three quarters within 55.

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

Registered
Jul 6, 2022
First posted
Jul 20, 2022
StartActual
Jul 11, 2022
Primary completionEst.
Dec 31, 2026
CompletionEst.
Dec 31, 2026
Last update
Sep 11, 2026
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 Sep 11, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05467215
Collaborators
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jul 20, 2022
Start date
Jul 11, 2022
Primary completion
Dec 31, 2026 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 31, 2026 (estimated)
Last update
Sep 11, 2026

Study contacts

Michelle Barnes, PT
Contact
carre@ualberta.ca
780-492-4858
Jaynie Yang, PT, PhD
Contact
jaynie@ualberta.ca
7804922894
Jaynie Yang
principal investigator · University of Alberta

Oversight

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

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