# Passive heating as an accessible and tolerable strategy to improve the inflammatory profile and cardiometabolic health in people with spinal cord injury

> **NIH VA I21** · SOUTH TEXAS VETERANS HEALTH CARE SYSTEM · 2022 · —

## Abstract

After spinal cord injury, the decrease in lean muscle mass, autonomic dysfunction, and relative physical
inactivity (compared to the able-bodied population) contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease
(CVD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) to be leading causes of morbidity and mortality.1-3 There is
increasing evidence that chronic low-grade inflammation, characterised by elevated resting concentrations of
pro-inflammatory cytokines, mediate this relationship.4 Persons with SCI have elevated concentrations of
pro-inflammatory markers compared with able-bodied (AB) individuals,3,5 impaired glucose utilization and
vascular remodelling that occurs as soon as 3-6 weeks post injury.6,7 In the able-bodied (AB) population,
exercise training increases lean body mass, improves glucose utilization, and importantly, also reduces chronic
low-grade inflammation, potentially via the acute increase in plasma concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6 and
anti-inflammatory cytokines following each session.10 While exercise is a cost-effective intervention to lower the
risk for chronic disease, the reduced physical capacity of people with SCI often precludes participation in
exercise and anti-inflammatory benefits of exercise are not seen in SCI compared to AB persons. There is
growing and emerging evidence that acute (1 session only) and chronic (repeated sessions over 4-8
weeks) passive heating can decrease inflammation in AB persons. In persons with SCI, acute (one
~60min session) passive heat therapy decreases inflammation, but for a short time only. To impact morbidity
and mortality, long-term attenuation of inflammation will be required and thus, the impact of chronic (i.e.;
repeated sessions) passive heat therapy over a longer time period needs to be studied. This is the first study
to investigate the impact of chronic passive heat therapy in persons with SCI and its impact on
inflammation, glucose utilization, and endothelial function. We hypothesize that six weeks of passive
heat therapy will decrease inflammatory mediators, glucose utilization and endothelial function.
Methods: Ten persons with sensorimotor complete (AIS A) SCI (levels C2-T6) will participate in 8 weeks
without passive heating (control = CON) followed by 8 weeks of passive heat stress (intervention = INT) using
electrical heating blankets for 60min 2-3x/week. Inflammatory markers (TLR4, Hsp70, CRP, IL-6, TNF-α,IL-1β,
IL-10), oral glucose tolerance and skin blood flow changes with local thermal hypermia (nitric oxide
dependent) will be measured at baseline, after CON, then after INT. Anticipated outcomes: Chronic passive
heat stress will decrease chronic inflammation, improve glucose utilization and improve endothelial function.
Preliminary studies and future directions: This work utilizes a feasible and practical method of passive
heating using electrical heating blankets and water perfused suits that has been well-developed in Dr.
Trbovich’s lab.11 This proposal takes next ste...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10363298
- **Project number:** 1I21RX003724-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** SOUTH TEXAS VETERANS HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
- **Principal Investigator:** Michelle Trbovich
- **Activity code:** I21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-07-01 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10363298

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10363298, Passive heating as an accessible and tolerable strategy to improve the inflammatory profile and cardiometabolic health in people with spinal cord injury (1I21RX003724-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10363298. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*