The Development of a Certification and Grading Procedure for German SCI Units.

Background/objectives: Spinal cord injury (SCI) care in Germany was established after the Second World War, following Guttman's philosophy that post-SCI rehabilitation should not be separated from the acute treatment phase. Reimbursement is negotiated with only rudimentary eligibility requirements. Over time, however, more and more centers have emerged that offer "only" rehabilitation.

Safety and efficacy of intrathecal antibodies to Nogo-A in patients with acute cervical spinal cord injury: a randomised, double-blind, multicentre, placebo-controlled, phase 2b trial.

Background: Spinal cord injury results in permanent neurological impairment and disability due to the absence of spontaneous regeneration. NG101, a recombinant human antibody, neutralises the neurite growth-inhibiting protein Nogo-A, promoting neural repair and motor recovery in animal models of spinal cord injury. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of intrathecal NG101 on recovery in patients with acute cervical traumatic spinal cord injury.

The ontogeny of human fetal trabecular bone architecture occurs in a limb-specific manner.

Gestational growth and development of bone is an understudied process compared to soft tissues and has implications for lifelong health. This study investigated growth and development of human fetal limb bone trabecular architecture using 3D digital histomorphometry of microcomputed tomography data from the femora and humeri of 35 skeletons (17 female and 18 male) with gestational ages between 4 and 9 months. Ontogenetic data revealed: (i) fetal trabecular architecture is similar between sexes; (ii) the proximal femoral metaphysis is physically larger, with thicker trabeculae and greater bone volume fraction relative to the humerus, but other aspects of trabecular architecture are similar between the bones; (iii) between 4 and 9 months gestation there is no apparent sexual or limb dimorphism in patterns of growth, but the size of the humerus and femur diverges early in development.

Prediction of segmental motor outcomes in traumatic spinal cord injury: Advances beyond sum scores.

Background And Objectives: Neurological and functional recovery after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is highly challenged by the level of the lesion and the high heterogeneity in severity (different degrees of in/complete SCI) and spinal cord syndromes (hemi-, ant-, central-, and posterior cord). So far outcome predictions in clinical trials are limited in targeting sum motor scores of the upper (UEMS) and lower limb (LEMS) while neglecting that the distribution of motor function is essential for functional outcomes. The development of data-driven prediction models of detailed segmental motor recovery for all spinal segments from the level of lesion towards the lowest motor segments will improve the design of rehabilitation programs and the sensitivity of clinical trials.