Motor and autonomic concomitant health improvements with neuromodulation and exercise (MACHINE) training: a randomised controlled trial in individuals with spinal cord injury.

Introduction: Motor and autonomic dysfunctions are widespread among people with spinal cord injury (SCI), leading to poor health and reduced quality of life. Exercise interventions, such as locomotor training (LT), can promote sensorimotor and autonomic recovery post SCI. Recently, breakthroughs in SCI research have reported beneficial effects of electrical spinal cord stimulation (SCS) on motor and autonomic functions.

When the whole is greater than the sum of its parts: a scoping review of activity-based therapy paired with spinal cord stimulation following spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in both motor and autonomic impairments, which can negatively affect independence and quality of life and increase morbidity and mortality. Despite emerging evidence supporting the benefits of activity-based training and spinal cord stimulation as two distinct interventions for sensorimotor and autonomic recovery, the combined effects of these modalities are currently uncertain. This scoping review evaluated the effectiveness of paired interventions (exercise + spinal neuromodulation) for improving sensorimotor and autonomic functions in individuals with SCI.

Cannabis health survey on usage in women with spinal cord injury and knowledge among physicians: A cross-sectional study.

Objective: Individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) report using cannabis to self-manage chronic pain and spasticity. However, its safety and efficacy are not well understood. As more women with SCI are pursuing motherhood, clinicians must consider the possibility of maternal cannabis use and its impact on fetal development.

Can Magnetic Resonance Imaging Reveal Lower Motor Neuron Damage after Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury? A Scoping Review.

Restoring muscle function to patients with spinal cord injuries (SCIs) will invariably require a functioning lower motor neuron (LMN). As techniques such as nerve transfer surgery emerge, characterizing the extent of LMN damage associated with SCIs becomes clinically important. Current methods of LMN diagnosis have inherent limitations that could potentially be overcome by the development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) biomarkers: specific features on MRI that are indicative of LMN integrity.

Perfect Storm: COVID-19 Associated Cardiac Injury and Implications for Neurological Disorders.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can lead to considerable lung damage and even death. Less is known about the effects of COVID-19 on the cardiovascular system. In their recent article, Shi and colleagues reported an association between cardiac injury and higher risk of in-hospital mortality in patients with COVID-19.

Effect of Exercise on Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Adults With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review.

Objective: To determine the effects of exercise on individual cardiometabolic syndrome (CMS) risk factors in adults with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI).

Data Sources: English language searches of PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Scopus (January 1, 1970, to July 31, 2019).

Study Selection: Articles were included if they met the following criteria: (1) original articles with statistical analysis, (2) participants were adults with a SCI sustained ≥1 year ago, (3) exercise intervention duration ≥2 weeks, and (4) included any CMS risk factor as an outcome.

Anthropometric cutoffs and associations with visceral adiposity and metabolic biomarkers after spinal cord injury.

Background/objectives: To examine associations of different anthropometric measurements of central adiposity to visceral adipose tissue (measured via multi-axial magnetic resonance imaging; MRI) and cardiometabolic disease risk factors in men with spinal cord injury (SCI). Additionally, to determine population-specific seated/supine waist and abdominal circumference cutoffs, which may identify men at increased risk of cardiometabolic disease.

Participants/methods: Twenty-two men with chronic SCI underwent MRI scans, anthropometric measurements along with assessments of various cardiometabolic risk biomarkers.

Assessment of laboratory and daily energy expenditure estimates from consumer multi-sensor physical activity monitors.

Wearable physical activity monitors are growing in popularity and provide the opportunity for large numbers of the public to self-monitor physical activity behaviours. The latest generation of these devices feature multiple sensors, ostensibly similar or even superior to advanced research instruments. However, little is known about the accuracy of their energy expenditure estimates.