Metabolic profile of complete spinal cord injury in pons and cerebellum: A 3T 1H MRS study.

The aim of this exploratory study was the assessment of the metabolic profiles of persons with complete spinal cord injury (SCI) in three region-of-interests (pons, cerebellar vermis, and cerebellar hemisphere), with magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and their correlations to clinical scores. Group differences and association between metabolic and clinical scores were examined. Fifteen people with chronic SCI (cSCI), five people with subacute SCI (sSCI) and fourteen healthy controls were included.

Functional connectivity and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations changes in people with complete subacute and chronic spinal cord injury.

After spinal cord injury (SCI), reorganization processes and changes in brain connectivity occur. Besides the sensorimotor cortex, the subcortical areas are strongly involved in motion and executive control. This exploratory study focusses on the cerebellum and vermis.

Mean kurtosis-Curve (MK-Curve) correction improves the test-retest reproducibility of diffusion kurtosis imaging at 3 T.

Diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) is applied to gain insights into the microstructural organization of brain tissues. However, the reproducibility of DKI outside brain white matter, particularly in combination with advanced estimation to remedy its noise sensitivity, remains poorly characterized. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the variability and reliability of DKI metrics while correcting implausible values with a fit method called mean kurtosis (MK)-Curve.

Exercise Capacity, Functioning and Quality of Life 12 Weeks after Traumatic Thoracic Spinal Cord Injury.

Background: A spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to patho-physiological changes that can affect physical and psychological performance. The aim of this observational study was to evaluate the relationship between exercise capacity, functioning and quality of life in patients 12 weeks after traumatic paraplegia participating in early rehabilitation.

Material And Methods: 13 patients participated in this study and performed cardio-pulmonary exercise testing (CPET) on an arm-crank ergometer to determine peak exercise capacity (VO2peak).

S1 Guidelines on Bone Impairment in Spinal Cord Injury.

During the acute and chronic phase of spinal cord injury (SCI) bone turnover and structure are affected. Bone mineral density of lower limbs is decreased up to 28%-50% below that of age-matched peers at 12-18 mo post injury. Coexisting secondary etiologies of osteoporosis may be present, and during ageing additional loss of bone occurs.