Journal of neurotrauma
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Journal of neurotrauma · Nov 2020
Residual innervation of the pelvic floor muscles in people with motor-complete spinal cord injury.
Individuals classified clinically as having a motor-complete spinal cord injury (mcSCI) should lack voluntary motor function below their injury level. Neurophysiological assessments using electromyography (EMG) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), however, have demonstrated that persons with mcSCI retain limited cortical descending innervation and voluntary activation of muscles below their level of injury, including muscles of the trunk and lower limb. We explored the possibility of whether there is also preserved innervation of the pelvic floor muscles (PFM) in persons with mcSCI. ⋯ However, the PFM were only activated in the SCI participants during maneuvers that engaged other trunk muscles, however. MEP responses in the PFM were also elicited in all controls and SCI participants, but MEP response characteristics were significantly altered in the SCI group. Our results suggest that persons with mcSCI retain some residual innervation of the PFM after injury, possibly via indirect cortical descending pathways.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Nov 2020
Continuous optical monitoring of spinal cord oxygenation and hemodynamics during the first seven days post-injury in a porcine model of acute spinal cord injury.
One of the only currently available treatment options to potentially improve neurological recovery after acute spinal cord injury (SCI) is augmentation of mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) to promote blood flow and oxygen delivery to the injured cord. However, to optimize such hemodynamic management, clinicians require a method to monitor the physiological effects of these MAP alterations within the injured cord. Therefore, we investigated the feasibility and effectiveness of using a novel optical sensor, based on near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), to monitor real-time spinal cord oxygenation and hemodynamics during the first 7 days post-injury in a porcine model of acute SCI. ⋯ The NIRS sensor demonstrated the ability to provide oxygenation and hemodynamic measurements over the 7-day post-SCI period. NIRS measures showed statistically significant correlations with each of the invasive IP measures and MAP changes during episodes of MAP alteration and hypoxia throughout the first week post-injury (p < 0.05). These results indicate that this novel NIRS system can monitor real-time changes in spinal cord oxygenation and hemodynamics over the first 7 days post-injury, and has the ability to detect local tissue changes that are reflective of systemic hemodynamic changes.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Nov 2020
Sex-Related Differences in Anxiety and Functional Recovery after Spinal Cord Injury in Mice.
It has been reported that female rats have a sex-related advantage in functional recovery and neuroprotection after spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the association between anxiety and neurological function after SCI in female and male rats remains unclear. The aim of this study was to examine sex-related differences in anxiety and neurological dysfunction after SCI in adult C57/BL6 male and female mice. ⋯ Anxiety-like behaviors were not significantly correlated with the spinal cord area at the epicenter in female and male mice. Our results revealed that female mice became more anxious than male mice after SCI. Anxiety-like behavior after SCI may be associated with functional recovery, and improving anxiety may affect functional recovery after injury.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Nov 2020
Influence of duration of injury on diffusion tensor imaging in acute canine spinal cord injury.
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) quantifies microstructural lesion characteristics, but impact of the interval between spinal cord injury (SCI) and examination on imaging characteristics is unclear. Our objective was to investigate the impact of duration of injury on DTI indices in dogs with acute, spontaneous SCI from thoracolumbar intervertebral disc herniation (IVDH) and explore associations with clinical severity. Twenty-six dogs with acute thoracolumbar IVDH of variable severity who underwent DTI were included. ⋯ Lower MD within the lesion epicenter was associated with worse neurological severity (p = 0.01). Duration of injury should be considered when interpreting DTI results in dogs with acute thoracolumbar IVDH. The MD might differentiate injury severity in the acute setting and be worthy of development as an imaging biomarker.