Am I eligible for the Dignity study?

Below is a list of the main requirements for qualifying for the Dignity study. If you are considering joining the Dignity study and can check all the boxes, we would like to hear from you.

Age between 18 and 80 years old, and weigh at least 50 kg (110 lb)
One of the following conditions

(Spinal cord injury)

either:

at the 1st thoracic (chest) spinal bone or below occurring at least 6 months ago, or
at the 5th through 8th cervical (neck) spinal bone occurring at least 12 months ago, or

(Multiple sclerosis)

stable with no significant changes in therapy or worsening/improvement for at least 3 months;
and either with a physical disability ranging from none to needing assistance to walk more than 20 meters without resting,
or essentially restricted to a wheelchair but with effective use of arms

Urinary incontinence as a result of an overactive bladder
Need to change or discontinue treatment with pills or skin patches used to manage bladder problems, due to intolerable side effects after at least 1 month of use
Willingness to use intermittent catheterization.

There are also factors that may exclude you from the Dignity study and these will be explained to you by your treating physician.

In addition, if you are a woman, you must not be pregnant or breast-feeding, must not be planning to get pregnant for the duration of the study, and must take adequate precautions to avoid pregnancy – this is to prevent any unexpected harm to the baby.

The inclusion and exclusion requirements are needed to limit the number of factors that may affect the results measured during the Dignity study, and to ensure the well-being of particularly vulnerable patients. They will ensure that the people who take part in the study are as similar as possible, and that they have as few additional disorders as possible, and that they are taking a minimum number of other treatments.

If you fulfill the requirements above and are interested in taking part in the Dignity study then speak to your physician who may be able to refer you to a study investigator. If your physician is participating in the Dignity study, he or she will invite you for an initial meeting, tell you more about the trial, answer any questions that you may have, check whether you meet other requirements, and confirm whether you are suitable for the trial. You will be under no obligation to take part until you are sure that you want to go ahead.

If, after your assessment, you do not meet all of the study requirements or the study investigator concludes that you are not eligible for the study, please don't be disappointed. Ask your physician to look out for other trials that you can take part in and to consider other options for you to get the most suitable treatment available for you.

If you know someone else who might be eligible to take part in the Dignity study, please click here to send them a link to this site.