scholarly journals Pulse low-intensity electromagnetic field as prophylaxis of heterotopic ossification in patients with traumatic spinal cord injury

2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandar Djurovic ◽  
Dejan Miljkovic ◽  
Zorica Brdareski ◽  
Aleksandra Plavsic ◽  
Miodrag Jevtic

Background/Aim. Heterotopic ossification (HO) is an important complication of head and spinal cord injuries (SCI). Pulse low-intensity electromagnetic field (PLIMF) therapy increases blood flow to an area of pain or inflammation, bringing more oxygen to that area and helps to remove toxic substances. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of PLIMF as prophylaxis of HO in patients with SCI. Methods. This prospective random control clinical study included 29 patients with traumatic SCI. The patients were randomly divided into experimental (n = 14) and control group (n = 15). The patients in the experimental group, besides exercise and range of motion therapy, were treated by PLIMF of the following characteristics: induction of 10 mT, frequency of 25 Hz and duration of 30 min. Pulse low-intensity electromagnetic field therapy started in the 7th week after the injury and lasted 4 weeks. The presence or absence of HO around the patients hips we checked by a plane radiography and Brookers classification. Functional capabilities and motor impairment were checked by Functional Independent Measure (FIM), Barthel index and American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) impairment class. Statistic analysis included Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Shapiro-Wilk test, Mann Whitney Exact test, Exact Wilcoxon signed rank test and Fischer Exact test. Statistical significance was set up to p < 0.05. Results. At the end of the treatment no patient from the experimental group had HO. In the control group, five patients (33.3%) had HO. At the end of the treatment the majority of the patients from the experimental group (57.14%) moved from ASIA-A to ASIA-B class. Conclusion. Pulse low-intensity electromagnetic field therapy could help as prophylaxis of HO in patients with traumatic SCI.

2021 ◽  
Vol In Press (In Press) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Saeed Khanjani ◽  
Javad Kazemi ◽  
Jalal Younesi ◽  
Asghar Dadkhah ◽  
Akbar Biglarian ◽  
...  

Background: Patients with spinal cord injuries suffer from some psychological problems, such as inadequate emotional regulation and flexibility for adapting to the post-injury condition. In this regard, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) can improve psychological flexibility and emotional regulation. Objectives: The main goal of this study was to analyze the effectiveness of ACT in improving psychological flexibility and emotional regulation in patients with spinal cord injuries. Methods: This quasi-experimental design study was based on a pretest-posttest method with a control group. The study population consisted of all patients with spinal cord injury referred to Jalaeipour Rehabilitation Center in Tehran. The study sample included 30 patients with spinal cord injury selected by the purposive sampling method. The inclusion criteria were patients aged 20 to 55 years, residing in Tehran, and with at least a high school diploma. The injury duration varied between one and five years, and the injuries were thoracic and lumbar injuries and an intermediate score of psychological flexibility and emotion regulation. The exclusion criteria were patients with cervical spinal cord injuries, as well as patients who were simultaneously receiving another psychological treatment together with the subjects who suffered from brain damage. Patients were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups based on random numbers. There were 15 patients in each group. The intervention group received ACT during eight sessions (1.5-hour group therapy) held once a week at Jalaeipour Rehabilitation Center in Tehran (2018), while the control group received routine care. Dennis and Vander Wal’s cognitive flexibility inventory (CFI) and Gross and John’s emotion regulation questionnaire (ERQ) were completed before and one week after the intervention. The data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). Results: There was a significant difference in demographic indicators between the two groups. Based on MANCOVA with the baseline score, the mean scores of psychological flexibility and emotion regulation had a significant difference regarding the results of ACT between the experimental and control groups (P < 0.05). Conclusions: According to the findings, ACT can improve psychological flexibility and emotional regulation in patients with spinal cord injuries.


2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huan-xia Li ◽  
Jing Cui ◽  
Jing-shi Fan ◽  
Jian-zhou Tong

Objective: To examine the clinical efficacy of combining Riluzole with mannitol and hyperbaric oxygen therapy in treating thoracolumbar vertebral fracture-induced acute spinal cord injury (ASCI). Methods: From June 2015 to May 2018, 80 patients with thoracolumbar fractures and ASCI who were treated at Baoding First Central Hospital were selected. All patients underwent posterior laminectomy and screw fixation, and they were randomly divided into two groups using a random number table method. The control group received conventional postoperative treatment, while the experimental group was treated with riluzole combined with mannitol and hyperbaric oxygen on the basis of conventional treatment. The recovery of nerve function which included motor function and sensory function, and the changes of serum IL-6, CRP, BDNF, BFGF and other factors before treatment and four weeks after treatment of the two groups of patients were observed and evaluated. Results: After treatment, the motor function scores and sensory function scores of the two groups of patients were improved compared with those before treatment (p<0.05). Compared with the control group, the experimental group improved significantly, and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). The levels of IL-6, BDNF and NFGF in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group (p<0.05). Conclusions: For patients with thoracolumbar fractures and ASCI undergoing laminar decompression and fixation, the comprehensive treatment plan of riluzole combined with mannitol and hyperbaric oxygen has certain advantages. Compared with the conventional therapy, it may significantly improve the movement and sensory functions of patients, relieve the inflammatory response of spinal cord, and promote recovery from the injury. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.2.3418 How to cite this:Li H, Cui J, Fan J, Tong J. An observation of the clinical efficacy of combining Riluzole with mannitol and hyperbaric oxygen in treating acute spinal cord injury. Pak J Med Sci. 2021;37(2):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.2.3418 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 158-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dionne Telemacque ◽  
Fengzhao Zhu ◽  
Kaifang Chen ◽  
Lin Chen ◽  
Zhengwei Ren ◽  
...  

Introduction:We developed the method of cervical spinal cord decompression through durotomy followed by duroplasty and analyzed its efficacy.Purpose:To develop a tactic of decompression durotomy and duroplasty for the treatment of severe spinal cord injury(SCI) with extensive edema of the spinal cord and without intramedullary hematoma, and to demonstrate the effectiveness of this method.Methods:From October 2016 to January 2018, 17 decompression operations were performed in the cervical spine in patients with SCI. Decompression laminectomy was done without durotomy in the first group of patients. In the second group, duroplasty of the spinal cord was performed after decompression durotomy. A total of 17 patients, 16 males (94%) and 1 female (6%), were operated on (ages from 32 to 66 years). The patients were divided into two groups: a control group and an experimental group. We used the ASIA scale for assessing the patients. The mean follow up time is 12 months (8−24 months).Results:The first group, i.e., the control group consisted of 10 patients who underwent decompression laminectomy without durotomy. The second group, i.e., the experimental group consisted of 7 patients who underwent durotomy followed by duroplasty. In this group, the positive dynamics were observed in 6 patients. Out of 2 patients with ASIA grade “A”, one showed improvement to ASIA grade “C”, and one improved to ASIA “D”. Two patients with ASIA grade “B” showed recovery to ASIA “D”. Two patients with ASIA grade “C” improved to grade “D” while one patient showed no change from ASIA “C”. Durotomy and duroplasty was effective in the experimental group.Conclusion:The performance of durotomy and duroplasty is an efficient method for the full-scale decompression of the spinal cord and the prevention of edema. This method aims at decreasing intraspinal pressure, as well as preventing ischemia and apoptosis, which is possible for the prevention and treatment of the spinal cord compartment syndrome or spinal cord intramedullary hypertension.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 201-206
Author(s):  
Morteza Sadeghi ◽  
◽  
Gholam Ali Ghasemi ◽  
Mohammad Taghi Karimi ◽  
◽  
...  

Introduction: Energy Consumption (EC) and Body Mass Index (BMI) are the major complications associated with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), which can be improved by exercise rehabilitation. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of using rebound therapy (exercise on a trampoline) on EC and BMI in individuals with SCI. Materials and Methods: Sixteen individuals with SCI (ASIA classification: A=6, B=6, C=2, D=2) were selected and randomly divided into two groups of experimental (rebound exercise) and control. The experimental group performed the exercise program by a modified trampoline for 12 weeks (10-30 minutes; 3 sessions a week). EC was measured by the Physiological Cost Index (PCI) and BMI was calculated by standard formula before and after the exercise intervention. Finally, the obtained data were analyzed by Repeated-Measures Analysis of Variance (RM-ANOVA) in SPSS. Results: The results of RM-ANOVA revealed significant interaction in both criteria (P<0.01). In other words, the experimental group changes were substantial, compared to that of the control group. Conclusion: The collected results indicated that rebound therapy could, in effect, improve the SCI individuals’ EC and BMI. Furthermore, it was suggested that rebound exercise can be a useful sports rehabilitation method for patients with SCI.


Author(s):  
Justin P. Huber ◽  
Lumy Sawaki

Abstract Background Dynamic body-weight support (DBWS) may play an important role in rehabilitation outcomes, but the potential benefit among disease-specific populations is unclear. In this study, we hypothesize that overground therapy with DBWS during inpatient rehabilitation yields greater functional improvement than standard-of-care in adults with non-traumatic spinal cord injury (NT-SCI). Methods This retrospective cohort study included individuals diagnosed with NT-SCI and undergoing inpatient rehabilitation. All participants were recruited at a freestanding inpatient rehabilitation hospital. Individuals who trained with DBWS for at least three sessions were allocated to the experimental group. Participants in the historical control group received standard-of-care (i.e., no DBWS). The primary outcome was change in the Functional Independence Measure scores (FIMgain). Results During an inpatient rehabilitation course, participants in the experimental group (n = 11), achieved a mean (SD) FIMgain of 48 (11) points. For the historical control group (n = 11), participants achieved a mean (SD) FIMgain of 36 (12) points. From admission to discharge, both groups demonstrated a statistically significant FIMgain. Between groups analysis revealed no significant difference in FIMgain (p = 0.022; 95% CI 2.0–22) after a post hoc correction for multiple comparisons. In a secondary subscore analysis, the experimental group achieved significantly higher gains in sphincter control (p = 0.011: 95% CI 0.83–5.72) with a large effect size (Cohen’s d 1.19). Locomotion subscores were not significantly different (p = 0.026; 95% CI 0.37–5.3) nor were the remaining subscores in self-care, mobility, cognition, and social cognition. Conclusions This is the first study to explore the impact of overground therapy with DBWS on inpatient rehabilitation outcomes for persons with NT-SCI. Overground therapy with DBWS appears to significantly improve functional gains in sphincter control compared to the standard-of-care. Gains achieved in locomotion, mobility, cognition, and social cognition did not meet significance. Findings from the present study will benefit from future large prospective and randomized studies.


2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael B. Jirjis ◽  
Chris Valdez ◽  
Aditya Vedantam ◽  
Brian D. Schmit ◽  
Shekar N. Kurpad

OBJECTIVE The aims of this study were to determine if the morphological and functional changes induced by neural stem cell (NSC) grafts after transplantation into the rodent spinal cord can be detected using MR diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and, furthermore, if the DTI-derived mean diffusivity (MD) metric could be a biomarker for cell transplantation in spinal cord injury (SCI). METHODS A spinal contusion was produced at the T-8 vertebral level in 40 Sprague Dawley rats that were separated into 4 groups, including a sham group (injury without NSC injection), NSC control group (injury with saline injection), co-injection control group (injury with Prograf), and the experimental group (injury with NSC and Prograf injection). The NSC injection was completed 1 week after injury into the site of injury and the rats in the experimental group were compared to the rats from the sham, NSC control, and co-injection groups. The DTI index, MD, was assessed in vivo at 2, 5, and 10 weeks and ex vivo at 10 weeks postinjury on a 9.4-T Bruker scanner using a spin-echo imaging sequence. DTI data of the cervical spinal cord from the sham surgery, injury with saline injection, injury with injection of Prograf only, and injury with C17.2 NSC and Prograf injection were examined to evaluate if cellular proliferation induced by intrathoracic C17.2 engraftment was detectable in a noninvasive manner. RESULTS At 5 weeks after injury, the average fractional anisotropy, longitudinal diffusion (LD) and radial diffusion (RD) coefficients, and MD of water (average of the RD and LD eigenvalues in the stem cell line–treated group) increased to an average of 1.44 × 10−3 sec/mm2 in the cervical segments, while the control groups averaged 0.98 × 10−3 s/mm2. Post hoc Tukey's honest significant difference tests demonstrated that the transplanted stem cells had significantly higher MD values than the other groups (p = 0.032 at 5 weeks). In vivo and ex vivo findings at 10 weeks displayed similar results. This statistical difference between the stem cell line and the other groups was maintained at the 10-week postinjury in vivo and ex vivo time points. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that the DTI-derived MD metric collected from noninvasive imaging techniques may provide useful biomarker indices for transplantation interventions that produce changes in the spinal cord structure and function. Though promising, the results demonstrated here suggest additional work is needed before implementation in a clinical setting.


2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nazi Derakhshanrad ◽  
Hooshang Saberi ◽  
Mir Saeed Yekaninejad ◽  
Mohammad Taghi Joghataei ◽  
Abdolreza Sheikhrezaei

OBJECTIVEGranulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) is a major growth factor for activation and differentiation of granulocyte colonies in the bone marrow. This cytokine has been widely and safely employed in different conditions over many years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of G-CSF administration for traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI).METHODSThis double-blind parallel randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial, a phase III study, was performed from June 2013 to June 2016 in the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research (BASIR) center at Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). It included 120 patients with incomplete chronic TSCI, American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale (AIS) B, C, or D, of at least 6 months’ duration. Sixty patients were allocated into the treatment group and 60 patients into the control group. All the patients had completed an outpatient rehabilitation program in the postacute period and were in a neurological and functional plateau. Patients were assessed with the ASIA grading system, the Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM-III), and the International Association of Neurorestoratology-Spinal Cord Injury Functional Rating Scale (IANR-SCIFRS) just before intervention and at 1, 3, and 6 months after 7 subcutaneous administrations of 300 μg/day of G-CSF in the treatment group and placebo in the control group (administered once per day over the course of 1 week). Randomization was performed with randomized block design, and the patients and evaluators were blinded regarding the treatment groups. One patient did not receive the entire allocated intervention and 5 patients were lost to follow-up. Thus data from 114 patients were included in the analysis.RESULTSOne hundred twenty patients were randomized and allocated into the study groups. Among them, 56 patients (93.3%) in the G-CSF group and 58 patients (96.6%) in the placebo group completed the study protocol. After 6 months of follow-up, AIS in the placebo group remained unchanged, whereas in the G-CSF group, 1 patient improved from AIS B to C, and 4 patients improved from AIS C to D. The mean (± SE) improvement in ASIA motor score in the G-CSF group was 5.5 ± 0.62, which was significantly more than in the placebo group (0.77 ± 0.20) (p < 0.001). The mean light touch and pinprick sensory scores, respectively, increased by 6.1 ± 1.1 and 8.7 ± 1.5 in the G-CSF group and by 1.3 ± 0.52 and 0.89 ± 0.44 scores in the placebo group (p < 0.001). Evaluation of functional improvement by the IANR-SCIFRS instrument revealed significantly more improvement in the G-CSF group (3.5 ± 0.37) than in the placebo group (0.41 ± 0.12) (p < 0.001). Also, a significant difference was observed in functional improvement between the 2 groups as measured by SCIM-III instrument (7.5 ± 0.95 vs 2.1 ± 0.51, p < 0.001).CONCLUSIONSAdministration of G-CSF for incomplete chronic spinal cord injuries is associated with significant motor, sensory, and functional improvement.Clinical trial registration no.: IRCT201108297441N1 (www.irct.ir)


2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Richard T. Katz

Abstract This article addresses some criticisms of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides) by comparing previously published outcome data from a group of complete spinal cord injury (SCI) persons with impairment ratings for a corresponding level of injury calculated using the AMA Guides, Sixth Edition. Results of the comparison show that impairment ratings using the sixth edition scale poorly with the level of impairments of activities of daily living (ADL) in SCI patients as assessed by the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) motor scale and the extended FIM motor scale. Because of the combinations of multiple impairments, the AMA Guides potentially overrates the impairment of paraplegics compared with that of quadriplegics. The use and applicability of the Combined Values formula should be further investigated, and complete loss of function of two upper extremities seems consistent with levels of quadriplegia using the SCI model. Some aspects of the AMA Guides contain inconsistencies. The concept of diminishing impairment values is not easily translated between specific losses of function per organ system and “overall” loss of ADLs involving multiple organ systems, and the notion of “catastrophic thresholds” involving multiple organ systems may support the understanding that variations in rating may exist in higher rating cases such as those that involve an SCI.


Author(s):  
Semeleva E.V. ◽  
Blinova E.V. ◽  
Zaborovsky A.V. ◽  
Vasilkina O.V. ◽  
Shukurov A.S.

In this work, we studied the pharmacological activity of zinc and magnesium salts of 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid in white non-linear male rats with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which was modeled by neurotoxicantsimplication into the pelvic part of spinal cord. After the reproduction of the pathology in animals, the indices of motor activity were recorded in the Rotarod test, and morphological studies of spinal cord sections stained according to Nisl in the Belshovsky modification were carried out. It was shown that the magnesium salt of 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid (compound LHT-317) to a greater extent reduces the development of motor disorders in experimental animals compared with the control group on the 4th day of observation. The course of intravenous administration of the studied compounds of 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid did not inhibit morphological changes in the spinal cord that develop in degenerative-dystrophic pathology of the central nervous system: connections. Moreover, if, against the background of treatment with zinc salt, the total area of motor zones in animals of the experimental group exceeded that of control rats, then the number of motoneurons did not differ from the control.


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