Journal of neurotrauma
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Journal of neurotrauma · Aug 2014
ReviewHelmet Use and Cervical Spine Injury: A Review of Two-wheeled Vehicle Accidents at a Level 1 Trauma Center.
Helmet use in two-wheeled vehicle accidents is widely reported to decrease the rates of death and traumatic brain injury. Previous reports suggest that there exists a trade off with helmet use consisting of an increased risk of cervical spine injuries. Recently, a review of a national trauma database demonstrated the opposite, with reduction in cervical spinal cord injuries in motorcycle crashes (MCC). ⋯ One hundred thirty-five total cervical spine injuries were identified. No evidence was found to suggest an increased risk of cervical spine injury or increased severity of cervical spine injury with helmet use. This fact, in combination with our previous findings, suggest that the law's age and insurance exemption should be revoked and a universal helmet law be reinstated in the state of Florida.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Aug 2014
Diffusion Tensor Imaging as a Predictor of Locomotor Function Following Experimental Spinal Cord Injury and Recovery.
Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) causes long-term disability with limited functional recovery linked to the extent of axonal connectivity. Quantitative diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of axonal integrity has been suggested as a potential biomarker for prognostic and therapeutic evaluation after trauma, but its correlation with functional outcomes has not been clearly defined. To examine this application, female Sprague-Dawley rats underwent midthoracic laminectomy followed by traumatic spinal cord contusion of differing severities or laminectomy without contusion. ⋯ Positive correlations between locomotor (Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan score and gait kinematics) and imaging (FA values) parameters were also observed within these adjacent regions, most strongly within caudal segments beyond the lesion. Evaluation of axonal injury by DTI provides a mechanism for functional recovery assessment in a rodent SCI model. These findings suggest that focused DTI analysis of caudal spinal cord should be studied in human cases in relationship to motor outcome to augment outcome biomarkers for clinical cases.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Aug 2014
Minimum Information About a Spinal Cord Injury Experiment (MIASCI) - a proposed reporting standard for spinal cord injury experiments.
The lack of reproducibility in many areas of experimental science has a number of causes, including a lack of transparency and precision in the description of experimental approaches. This has far-reaching consequences, including wasted resources and slowing of progress. Additionally, the large number of laboratories around the world publishing articles on a given topic make it difficult, if not impossible, for individual researchers to read all of the relevant literature. ⋯ One strategy to improve transparency in experimental description, and to allow the development of frameworks for computer-readable knowledge repositories, is the adoption of uniform reporting standards, such as common data elements (data elements used in multiple clinical studies) and minimum information standards. This article describes a minimum information standard for spinal cord injury (SCI) experiments, its major elements, and the approaches used to develop it. Transparent reporting standards for experiments using animal models of human SCI aim to reduce inherent bias and increase experimental value.
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Journal of neurotrauma · Aug 2014
Nrf2 activation in astrocytes contributes to spinal cord ischemic tolerance induced by hyperbaric oxygen preconditioning.
In this study, we investigated whether nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) activation in astrocytes contributes to the neuroprotection induced by a single hyperbaric oxygen preconditioning (HBO-PC) against spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion (SCIR) injury. In vivo: At 24 h after a single HBO-PC at 2.5 atmospheres absolute for 90 min, the male ICR mice underwent SCIR injury by aortic cross-clamping surgery and observed for 48 h. HBO-PC significantly improved hindlimb motor function, reduced secondary spinal cord edema, ameliorated the reactivity of spinal motor-evoked potentials, and slowed down the process of apoptosis to exert neuroprotective effects against SCIR injury. ⋯ HBO-PC significantly increased the survival rate of neurons and the glutathione content in culture medium, which was mainly released from asctrocytes. Moreover, the Nrf2 activity and downstream genes expression induced by HBO-PC were mainly enhanced in astrocytes, but not in neurons. In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that spinal cord ischemic tolerance induced by HBO-PC may be mainly related to Nrf2 activation in astrocytes.