Ren Yihang, Mo Lifen, Lu Junlin, Zhu Ping, Yin Ming, Jia Wenqing, Liang Fengyan, Han Xiaodi, Zhao Jizong
Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Beijing, China.
Cyborg Bionic Syst. 2025 Jul 22;6:0314. doi: 10.34133/cbsystems.0314. eCollection 2025.
Epidural electrical stimulation (EES) has emerged as a promising treatment for spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the therapeutic potential of EES in functional recovery following incomplete SCI remains limited, with few studies of a large sample size. This study included 11 patients who received EES combined with physical therapy (PT) and 10 who received only PT. Follow-ups were conducted pre-surgery, post-surgery, and at 19 to 25 months postoperatively. After the surgery, patients in the EES + PT group showed significant improvements in sensory function ( < 0.001) and muscle spasticity ( < 0.001). Long-term follow-up indicated that the EES + PT group had significant improvements in sensory function ( < 0.001), muscle spasticity ( < 0.01), and urinary function ( < 0.05). Among them, all 11 patients had improvements in sensory function and muscle spasticity, and 6 of 11 reported an improvement in urinary function. Moreover, of the 5 patients with neuropathic pain, 4 exhibited reduced pain scores. Compared with the PT-only group, the EES + PT group had significantly better recovery in sensory function ( < 0.01), muscle spasticity ( < 0.0001), muscle strength ( < 0.01), and bowel function ( < 0.01). Further analysis suggested that patients with less severe SCIs in the EES + PT group tend to achieve better functional recovery. With a relatively large sample size compared to those in previous studies, this study confirms the promising therapeutic effects of EES in SCI. EES combined with PT provides a potential approach for functional recovery in patients with incomplete SCI.
硬膜外电刺激（EES）已成为一种有前景的脊髓损伤（SCI）治疗方法。然而，EES在不完全性SCI后功能恢复方面的治疗潜力仍然有限，大样本量研究较少。本研究纳入了11例接受EES联合物理治疗（PT）的患者和10例仅接受PT的患者。在术前、术后以及术后19至25个月进行随访。术后，EES + PT组患者的感觉功能（<0.001）和肌肉痉挛（<0.001）有显著改善。长期随访表明，EES + PT组在感觉功能（<0.001）、肌肉痉挛（<0.01）和泌尿功能（<0.05）方面有显著改善。其中，11例患者的感觉功能和肌肉痉挛均有改善，11例中有6例报告泌尿功能有所改善。此外，5例神经性疼痛患者中有4例疼痛评分降低。与单纯PT组相比，EES + PT组在感觉功能（<0.01）、肌肉痉挛（<0.0001）、肌肉力量（<0.01）和肠道功能（<0.01）方面的恢复明显更好。进一步分析表明，EES + PT组中脊髓损伤较轻的患者往往功能恢复更好。与以往研究相比，本研究样本量相对较大，证实了EES在SCI治疗中具有良好的疗效。EES联合PT为不完全性SCI患者的功能恢复提供了一种潜在方法。
