Acute and Chronic Systemic Alterations Produced by Spinal Trauma

A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 August 2016) | Viewed by 18723

Special Issue Editor

Department of Neurobiology and Anatomical Sciences, University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2500 North State Street, R715, Jackson, MS 39216, USA
Interests: spinal cord injury; SCI; systemic; immune; gastrointestinal; fertility; sexuality; urogenital; respiratory; spleen; depression

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Spinal cord injury (SCI) initiates a wide range of pathological events that adversely and permanently shape the overall quality of an individual’s life. In addition to the well-known loss of sensory and motor function, as well as efforts to restore such loss, individuals who have suffered an SCI face a lifetime of lesser known health deficits, such as gastrointestinal and urogenital difficulties, sexual dysfunction and infertility, osteoporosis, altered immune function, metabolic syndromes, and depression, to name only a few.

The goal of this Special Issue is to provide a focus on these SCI-induced deficits, in terms of identifying both pathological mechanisms underlying their onset/maintenance, as well as describe novel ideas as to their potential treatment.

Raymond J. Grill, Ph.D.
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Brain Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • spinal cord injury
  • SCI
  • systemic
  • immune
  • gastrointestinal
  • fertility
  • sexuality
  • urogenital
  • metabolic disorders
  • depression
  • inflammation
  • osteoporosis

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

1007 KiB  
Article
Diffusion Assessment of Cortical Changes, Induced by Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury
by Peng Sun, Rory K. J. Murphy, Paul Gamble, Ajit George, Sheng-Kwei Song and Wilson Z. Ray
Brain Sci. 2017, 7(2), 21; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci7020021 - 17 Feb 2017
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 5668
Abstract
Promising treatments are being developed to promote functional recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI). Magnetic resonance imaging, specifically Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) has been shown to non-invasively measure both axonal and myelin integrity following traumatic brain and SCI. A novel data-driven model-selection algorithm [...] Read more.
Promising treatments are being developed to promote functional recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI). Magnetic resonance imaging, specifically Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) has been shown to non-invasively measure both axonal and myelin integrity following traumatic brain and SCI. A novel data-driven model-selection algorithm known as Diffusion Basis Spectrum Imaging (DBSI) has been proposed to more accurately delineate white matter injury. The objective of this study was to investigate whether DTI/DBSI changes that extend to level of the cerebral peduncle and internal capsule following a SCI could be correlated with clinical function. A prospective non-randomized cohort of 23 patients with chronic spinal cord injuries and 17 control subjects underwent cranial diffusion weighted imaging, followed by whole brain DTI and DBSI computations. Region-based analyses were performed on cerebral peduncle and internal capsule. Three subgroups of patients were included in the region-based analysis. Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) was also applied to allow whole-brain white matter analysis between controls and all patients. Functional assessments were made using International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI) as modified by the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Scale. Whole brain white matter analysis using TBSS finds no statistical difference between controls and all patients. Only cervical ASIA A/B patients in cerebral peduncle showed differences from controls in DTI and DBSI results with region-based analysis. Cervical ASIA A/B SCI patients had higher levels of axonal injury and edema/tissue loss as measured by DBSI at the level of the cerebral peduncle. DTI Fractional Anisotropy (FA), Axial Diffusivity (AD) and Radial Diffusivity (RD) was able to detect differences in cervical ASIA A/B patients, but were non-specific to pathologies. Increased water fraction indicated by DBSI non-restricted isotropic diffusion fraction in the cerebral peduncle, explains the simultaneously increased DTI AD and DTI RD values. Our results further demonstrate the utility of DTI to detect disruption in axonal integrity in white matter, yet a clear shortcoming in differentiating true axonal injury from inflammation/tissue loss. Our results suggest a preservation of axonal integrity at the cortical level and has implications for future regenerative clinical trials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Acute and Chronic Systemic Alterations Produced by Spinal Trauma)
Show Figures

Figure 1

4394 KiB  
Article
Morphology of Donor and Recipient Nerves Utilised in Nerve Transfers to Restore Upper Limb Function in Cervical Spinal Cord Injury
by Aurora Messina, Natasha Van Zyl, Michael Weymouth, Stephen Flood, Andrew Nunn, Catherine Cooper, Jodie Hahn and Mary P. Galea
Brain Sci. 2016, 6(4), 42; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci6040042 - 27 Sep 2016
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 5941
Abstract
Loss of hand function after cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) impacts heavily on independence. Multiple nerve transfer surgery has been applied successfully after cervical SCI to restore critical arm and hand functions, and the outcome depends on nerve integrity. Nerve integrity is assessed [...] Read more.
Loss of hand function after cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) impacts heavily on independence. Multiple nerve transfer surgery has been applied successfully after cervical SCI to restore critical arm and hand functions, and the outcome depends on nerve integrity. Nerve integrity is assessed indirectly using muscle strength testing and intramuscular electromyography, but these measures cannot show the manifestation that SCI has on the peripheral nerves. We directly assessed the morphology of nerves biopsied at the time of surgery, from three patients within 18 months post injury. Our objective was to document their morphologic features. Donor nerves included teres minor, posterior axillary, brachialis, extensor carpi radialis brevis and supinator. Recipient nerves included triceps, posterior interosseus (PIN) and anterior interosseus nerves (AIN). They were fixed in glutaraldehyde, processed and embedded in Araldite Epon for light microscopy. Eighty percent of nerves showed abnormalities. Most common were myelin thickening and folding, demyelination, inflammation and a reduction of large myelinated axon density. Others were a thickened perineurium, oedematous endoneurium and Renaut bodies. Significantly, very thinly myelinated axons and groups of unmyelinated axons were observed indicating regenerative efforts. Abnormalities exist in both donor and recipient nerves and they differ in appearance and aetiology. The abnormalities observed may be preventable or reversible. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Acute and Chronic Systemic Alterations Produced by Spinal Trauma)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

466 KiB  
Review
Standardization of Data for Clinical Use and Research in Spinal Cord Injury
by Fin Biering-Sørensen and Vanessa K. Noonan
Brain Sci. 2016, 6(3), 29; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci6030029 - 12 Aug 2016
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 6692
Abstract
Increased survival after spinal cord injury (SCI) worldwide has enhanced the need for quality data that can be compared and shared between centers, countries, as well as across research studies, to better understand how best to prevent and treat SCI. Such data should [...] Read more.
Increased survival after spinal cord injury (SCI) worldwide has enhanced the need for quality data that can be compared and shared between centers, countries, as well as across research studies, to better understand how best to prevent and treat SCI. Such data should be standardized and be able to be uniformly collected at any SCI center or within any SCI study. Standardization will make it possible to collect information from larger SCI populations for multi-center research studies. With this aim, the international SCI community has obtained consensus regarding the best available data and measures for use in SCI clinical practice and research. Reporting of SCI data is likewise standardized. Data elements are continuously updated and developed using an open and transparent process. There are ongoing internal, as well as external review processes, where all interested parties are encouraged to participate. The purpose of this review paper is to provide an overview of the initiatives to standardize data including the International Spinal Cord Society’s International SCI Data Sets and the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Common Data Elements Project within SCI and discuss future opportunities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Acute and Chronic Systemic Alterations Produced by Spinal Trauma)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Back to TopTop