Blood Pressure, Cerebral Blood Flow and Cognition in Spinal Cord Injury
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2019-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Following spinal cord injury autonomic regulation of the cardiovascular system is impaired,
which results in a variety of measurable abnormalities in blood pressure. Evidence of
causality has been documented in the general medical literature with findings of improved
cognitive function following acute increases in blood pressure using the anti-hypotensive
agent Midodrine Hydrochloride (midodrine). Additionally, a recent report documented an
inverse association between blood pressure and depression suggesting that low blood pressure
may confer greater risk than high blood pressure. Midodrine is a drug approved by the Food
and Drug Administration to treat low blood pressure in the general population. Midodrine is
not approved in the United States to treat low blood pressure in persons with spinal cord
injury. Therefore, its use in this study is investigational. The first objective is to
characterize the relationship between blood pressure, cerebral blood flow velocity and
cognitive function after a single dose of midodrine compared to placebo. Second objective is
to determine the long-term safety and efficacy of midodrine administration.