The journal of trauma and acute care surgery
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J Trauma Acute Care Surg · May 2012
Comparative StudyRemote inflammatory response in liver is dependent on the segmental level of spinal cord injury.
Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) triggers a systemic inflammatory response (SIR) that contributes to a high incidence of secondary organ complications, particularly after a cervical or high-level thoracic injury. Because liver plays a key role in initiating and propagating the SIR, the aim of this study was to assess the effects that SCI at differing segmental levels has on the intensity of the inflammatory response in the liver. ⋯ Our findings indicate that traumatic SCI triggers an acute SIR that contributes to hepatocellular injury. SCI-induced remote injury/dysfunction to the liver appears to be transient and is more robust after an upper thoracic SCI compared with a lower thoracic SCI.
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J Trauma Acute Care Surg · May 2012
Comparative StudyThe severity of brain damage determines bone marrow stromal cell therapy efficacy in a traumatic brain injury model.
Patients who survive traumatic brain injury (TBI) can undergo serious sensorial and motor function deficits. Once damage occurs, there is no effective treatment to bring patients to full recovery. Recent studies, however, show bone marrow stromal cells (BMSC) as a potential therapy for TBI. ⋯ These findings suggest that the severity of neurologic damage may determine the potential effect of cell therapy when applied to chronically established TBI.