Monoaminergic Modulation of Motor Function in Subacute Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)

Inclusion Criteria: A) Subjects with motor incomplete SCI (AIS C or D) of 1-9 mo. duration will be selected, with anatomical lesions between C1-T10. B) Subjects will be between 18 and 75 years of age . Note: grant application states 16-75, however, we will be only including subjects 18-75. C) All subjects must be previously ambulatory with passive range of motion consistent with normal walking, and must include: ankle dorsiflexion ankle to 10° and plantarflexion to 30°, knee flexion from 0 to 90°, hip flexion/extension to 90° - -10°. D) Subjects will be medically stable with medical clearance to participate, with absence of concurrent severe medical illness, including unhealed decubiti, existing infection, significant cardiovascular or metabolic disease which limits exercise participation, significant osteoporosis (as indicated by history of fractures following injury), active heterotrophic ossification in the lower extremities, known history of peripheral nerve injury in lower legs, history of known traumatic head injury, and history of pulmonary complications, including significant obstructive and/or restrictive lung diseases. E) Individuals who are undergoing concurrent physical therapy will not be excluded from the study population, secondary to the use of the cross-over design. Physical therapy records will be obtained to ascertain the amount and types of physical therapy services being provided. F) Women of childbearing potential will not be excluded, although women who are pregnant or who are considering becoming pregnant will be excluded due to the trunk and pelvis restraints required for use during locomotion, and secondary to the unknown effects of the pharmacological agents on the developing fetus. G) Patients with known liver, renal, or other metabolic disease that may interfere with drug action and/or clearance will be excluded from the proposed study. These complications will be partially obviated by requiring all patients to undergo specific medical procedures (liver function tests, urinalysis) prior to admission. H)Men and women will be recruited for participation in the proposed clinical trial at rates consistent with national and local average of gender disparities of SCI (80% male, 20% women). Women of childbearing potential will not be excluded, although women who are pregnant or who are considering becoming pregnant will be excluded due to the trunk and pelvis restraints required for use during locomotion, and secondary to the unknown effects of the test agent (SSRIs) on the developing fetus. Women who use oral contraceptives will not be assessed for TIZ experiments and will be excluded from Aim 1. I) Individuals of different ethnicities will be recruited at rates similar to the national and local ethnicity rates. Current data since 2005 indicate that of the entire population of SCI, 66.1% are Caucasian, 27.1% are African American, 6.6% are of Hispanic origin, and 2.0% are Asian. These populations closely resemble those at RIC and in our previous studies in human SCI. Exclusion Criteria: A) Subjects who are ventilator-dependent will be excluded secondary to severely impaired respiratory capacity. B) Subjects with substantial orthopedic bracing to stabilize the cervical or thoracic vertebral column and are unable to fit in the safety harness without increased risk of injury are not eligible. C) Patients will also be excluded if they are unable to tolerate 10 minutes of standing without orthostasis (decrease in blood pressure by 20 mmHg systolic and 10 mmHg diastolic); previous experience in the sub-acute population suggests that 10 minutes of standing is more than sufficient for tolerating 45 minutes of walking secondary to increased activity/muscle pump minimizing risk for orthostasis. D) Women who are pregnant or who are considering becoming pregnant will be excluded due to the trunk and pelvis restraints required for use during locomotion, and secondary to the unknown effects of the pharmacological agents on the developing fetus. E) Subjects with height and weight limitations which restrict participation in Lokomat Training(LT) will be excluded. For height, subjects who are \> 78 inches or \< 60 inches tall may present with thigh/shank lengths that may limit use of the Lokomat. If subjects are not able to step independently on the treadmill and require use of robotic-assistance during treadmill stepping, attempts to fit all subjects in the robotic orthosis prior to enrollment and randomization. For weight, the maximum weight limit for use of the safety harness/counterweight system is 300 lbs. F) Individuals with concurrent severe medical illness, including unhealed decubiti, existing infection, significant cardiovascular or metabolic disease which limits exercise participation, significant osteoporosis (as indicated by history of fractures following injury), active heterotrophic ossification in the lower extremities, known history of peripheral nerve injury in lower legs, history of known traumatic head injury, and history of pulmonary complications, including significant obstructive and/or restrictive lung diseases will be excluded. G) Patients prescribed other anti-depressant medications, including specific monoaminergic agents, their precursors or their agonists, or other medications with known interactions to the SSRIs or TIZ will be excluded. With consultation and supervision of the patients' physician and the attending physicians for each individual patient, subjects will be required to wean of their medications on an appropriate and safe dosing schedule to minimize side effects of drug cessation or withdrawal. All subjects will be excluded from participation unless both attending physician and patient agree to cease all such medications during the evaluation and training period. A 14-day washout period for SSRIs and a 72 hour washout for TIZ will be utilized. H) All subjects prescribed anti-spastic medications will be excluded. Specific agents to be excluded include baclofen (Lioresal®) and benzodiazepines (Diazepam®). Selected agents used for pain modulation will be evaluated per subject to ascertain potential interactions with test agent. With consultation and supervision of the patients' physician and the attending physicians for each individual patient, subjects will be required to wean of their medications on an appropriate and safe dosing schedule to minimize side effects of drug cessation or withdrawal. All subjects will be excluded from participation unless both attending physician and patient agree to cease all such medications during the evaluation and training period. A 72-hour minimum washout period for all such medications will be utilized. (Note: exception to use of TIZ during training - see above). I) Women of childbearing potential will not be excluded, although women who are pregnant or who are considering becoming pregnant will be excluded due to the trunk and pelvis restraints required for use during locomotion, and secondary to the unknown effects of the test agent (SSRIs) on the developing fetus. Women who use oral contraceptives will not be assessed for TIZ experiments and will be excluded from Aim 1.