Northwestern Medicine researchers will launch a clinical trial to explore targeted muscle reinnervation as a method of treating chronic pain in amputees.
The goal of the therapy is to transfer a nerve that has been cut off from the muscles it used to control and plug it into a functioning muscle nearby, according to a company press release.
Researchers will use an online pain questionnaire and MRI of the nerves to compare outcomes of targeted muscle reinnervation with standard surgical treatment for neuromas.
The 4-year study is funded by a Department of Defense Office of Congressionally Directed Medical Research grant and will seek to enroll 200 individuals across multiple centers.
Northwestern Memorial Hospital will be the lead site. Other participating sites include the Walter Reed National Military, University of Washington, San Antonio Military and Harborview medical centers.
“By giving an amputee’s damaged nerves a new purpose, we have seen [targeted muscle reinnervation] improve many lives,” Gregory A. Dumanian, MD, chief of plastic surgery at Northwestern Medicine and principal investigator for the study, stated in the release. “Now we have the chance to test it in a large clinical trial, which will allow us to take the next steps toward making it a new standard of care.”
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To learn more about “Targeted Reinnervation as a Means to Treat Neuromas in Major Limb Amputation,” visit www.clinicaltrials.gov.
