Plasticity of spinal centers in spinal cord injury patients: new concepts for gait evaluation and training.

Recent data on spinal cord plasticity after spinal cord injury (SCI) were reviewed to analyze the influence of training on the neurophysiological organization of locomotor spinal circuits in SCI patients. In particular, the authors studied the relationship between central pattern generators (CPGs) and motor neuron pool activation during gait. An analysis of the relations between locomotor recovery and compensatory mechanisms focuses on the hierarchical organization of gait parameters and allows characterizing kinematic parameters that are highly stable during different gait conditions and in recovered gait after SCI.

Early versus delayed inpatient spinal cord injury rehabilitation: an Italian study.

Objective: To examine what effect the injury-to-rehabilitation interval has on the outcome of spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation.

Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: Spinal unit of a large rehabilitation hospital.

Sex-related differences of rehabilitation outcomes of spinal cord lesion patients.

Objectives: To evaluate sex-related differences of spinal cord lesion patients.

Patients: Two hundred and eighty-one patients were included with evaluation of: lesion to admission time, aetiology, lesion level, associated injury, medical complications and surgical intervention, length of stay, American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) impairment and motor scores.

Main Outcome Measures: ASIA impairment grade and ASIA motor scores; Barthel Index, Rivermead Mobility Index and Walking Index for Spinal Cord Injury.

Neurologic recovery of spinal cord injury patients in Italy.

Objective: To evaluate neurologic recovery of spinal cord lesion patients and its relationship to some lesion and patient features.

Design: Retrospective review of the charts.

Setting: Rehabilitation hospital in Italy.