Background: Despite a consistent trend toward older age at time of spinal cord injury (SCI), little is known about the external causes of SCI in the elderly.
Objective: To examine environmental circumstances, documented by International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification codes, at time of SCI among older adults.
Methods: Data on individuals injured in 2005 or later were retrieved from the National SCI Database. Demographics, injury profiles, and external causes of injury were compared between the study group (age >60 years, n = 1,079) and reference group (age 16-45 years, n = 3,579) using chi-square and Student t tests.
Results: Among the elderly, falls were the most common etiology of SCI (60%), followed by transport accidents (24%) and complications of medical and surgical care (12%). In the younger group, transport accidents were the most common etiology of SCI (49%), followed by falls (22%) and assault (21%). Falls on the same level (30%), from stairs and steps (22%), and other slipping, tripping, and stumbling (11%) were the most common mechanisms of falls in the elderly group. Among motor vehicle accidents, car occupant injured in a collision with another car was the most common mechanism of injury among the elderly (28%).
Conclusions: There is an urgent need for effective fall prevention programs among the elderly to reduce SCI in this expanding population. Details on the mechanisms of falls and other major causes of SCI among the elderly provided in this study should inform the development of future interventions for high-risk persons, activities, and environments.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1310/sci2103-218 | DOI Listing |
Sci Rep
December 2024
Department of Orthopedics, The Second Affiliated hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, Jiangxi Province, China.
The DNA cross-link repair 1B (DCLRE1B) gene is involved in repairing cross-links between DNA strands, including those associated with Hoyeraal-Hreidarsson syndrome and congenital dyskeratosis. However, its role in tumours is not well understood. DCLRE1B expression profiles were examined in tumour tissues and normal tissues using TCGA, GTEx, and TARGET datasets.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
December 2024
Neuroengineering Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Peripheral neuropathy (PN), the most common complication of diabetes, leads to sensory loss and associated health issues as pain and increased fall risk. However, present treatments do not counteract sensory loss, but only partially manage its consequences. Electrical neural stimulation holds promise to restore sensations, but its efficacy and benefits in PN damaged nerves are yet unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
December 2024
Longitudinal Studies Section, Translational Gerontology Branch, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Impaired muscle mitochondrial oxidative capacity is associated with future cognitive impairment, and higher levels of PET and blood biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease and neurodegeneration. Here, we examine its associations with up to over a decade-long changes in brain atrophy and microstructure. Higher in vivo skeletal muscle oxidative capacity via MR spectroscopy (post-exercise recovery rate, k) is associated with less ventricular enlargement and brain aging progression, and less atrophy in specific regions, notably primary sensorimotor cortex, temporal white and gray matter, thalamus, occipital areas, cingulate cortex, and cerebellum white matter.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
December 2024
Department of Biochemistry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Proteostasis is maintained through regulated protein synthesis and degradation and chaperone-assisted protein folding. However, this is challenging in neuronal projections because of their polarized morphology and constant synaptic proteome remodeling. Using high-resolution fluorescence microscopy, we discover that hippocampal and spinal cord motor neurons of mouse and human origin localize a subset of chaperone mRNAs to their dendrites and use microtubule-based transport to increase this asymmetric localization following proteotoxic stress.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
December 2024
College of Pharmacy and Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Delivering protein drugs to the central nervous system (CNS) is challenging due to the blood-brain and blood-spinal cord barrier. Here we show that neutrophils, which naturally migrate through these barriers to inflamed CNS sites and release neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), can be leveraged for therapeutic delivery. Tannic acid nanoparticles tethered with anti-Ly6G antibody and interferon-β (aLy6G-IFNβ@TLP) are constructed for targeted neutrophil delivery.
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