# Deep cerebellar electrical stimulation for post-stroke motor recovery

> **NIH NIH UH3** · CLEVELAND CLINIC LERNER COM-CWRU · 2020 · $160,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Stroke is a disease of epidemiological proportions in the industrialized world and a leading cause of long-term
disabilities. One third of stroke patients maintain long-term motor deficits severe enough to be disabling,
despite rehabilitative efforts. We have proposed dentate nucleus deep brain stimulation (DN-DBS) as a therapy
to facilitate motor recovery for patients with chronic upper extremity hemiparesis due to ischemic stroke. Our
working hypothesis is that low-frequency, DN-DBS increases excitatory dentatothalamocoritical output; thereby
enhancing cerebral cortical excitability and facilitating functional reorganization in perilesional cortical areas
that support further motor recovery. Our supporting data demonstrate that motor recovery facilitation can be
achieved with a single electrode system in the ischemic rodent model, with those changes accompanied by
sustained increments in cerebral cortical excitability in perilesional regions, perilesional reorganization of motor
representation, and increased expression of markers of long-term potentiation and synaptogenesis. Our
preclinical data has reached the point of human translation and, based on these data, we have obtained FDA
approval for a first-in-man DN-DBS clinical trial to assess the safety and feasibility of DN-DBS for patients with
persistent, moderate-to-severe upper-extremity hemiparesis secondary to middle cerebral artery ischemic
stroke. The experiments proposed in the present study will build upon the opportunities provided by this clinical
trial. Specifically, we will obtain and analyze behavioral and physiological data from human subjects to
advance the development and evaluation of a next-generation system that will be specifically designed for
post-stroke rehabilitation enhancement. These studies will be carried out by an investigative team with
multiple, long-standing collaborations aimed at the development of DN-DBS technologies and treatment of
motor impairments following stroke; the team spans expertise in clinical trials, neurology, neurosurgery,
neurophysiology, neurorehabilitation, neuropsychology, radiology, and computational modeling. An
Investigational Device Exemption with the Food and Drug Administration for the safety and feasibility trial was
granted in December of 2015 and IRB approval is pending.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10058307
- **Project number:** 3UH3NS100543-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** CLEVELAND CLINIC LERNER COM-CWRU
- **Principal Investigator:** KENNETH B BAKER
- **Activity code:** UH3 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $160,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2016-09-30 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10058307

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10058307, Deep cerebellar electrical stimulation for post-stroke motor recovery (3UH3NS100543-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10058307. Licensed CC0.

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