Article
Clinical Neurology
Alessio Baricich, Marco Battaglia, Daria Cuneo, Lucia Cosenza, Marzia Millevolte, Michela Cosma, Mirko Filippetti, Stefania Dalise, Valentina Azzollini, Carmelo Chisari, Stefania Spina, Nicoletta Cinone, Lorenza Scotti, Marco Invernizzi, Stefano Paolucci, Alessandro Picelli, Andrea Santamato
Summary: This study aims to clarify the role of BoNT-A in the context of non-stroke spasticity (NSS). BoNT-A demonstrated significant improvement in spasticity severity, pain, and quality of life. The effect persistence over time varies depending on the diagnosis and the number of treated sites.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Review
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Guangjin Gu, Jie Ren, Bin Zhu, Zhongju Shi, Shiqing Feng, Zhijian Wei
Summary: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is an irreversible disease process with a high disability and mortality rate. Curcumin, as the main active ingredient in turmeric, plays an important role in reducing inflammation and oxidation, protecting neurons, and ultimately reducing spinal cord injury by effectively curbing the process of secondary injury.
BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY
(2023)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Paola Valsasina, Mark A. Horsfield, Alessandro Meani, Claudio Gobbi, Antonio Gallo, Maria A. Rocca, Massimo Filippi
Summary: Reliable measurements of cervical cord atrophy progression in multiple sclerosis can be achieved using a new registration-based method, which showed lower sample sizes and higher reliability compared to existing methods.
JOURNAL OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Silvia Castany, Anna Bago-Mas, Jose Miguel Vela, Enrique Verdu, Karolina Bretova, Viktorie Svobodova, Petr Dubovy, Pere Boadas-Vaello
Summary: This study aimed to determine whether neuroinflammatory factor over-expression in the spinal cord and supraspinal structures may be associated with reflexive and nonreflexive pain response development from acute spinal cord injury (SCI) phase to 12 weeks post-injury in female mice. The results show that transient reflexive responses were observed during the SCI acute phase associated with transient cytokine overexpression in the spinal cord. In contrast, increased nonreflexive pain responses were observed in the chronic phase associated with cytokine overexpression in supraspinal structures, especially in mPFC. In addition, results revealed the contribution of neuron-glia crosstalk in the development of nonreflexive pain responses in the chronic spinal cord injury phase, as indicated by increased glial activation and CX3CL1/CX3CR1 upregulation in the neurons in the mPFC.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Willemijn Faber, Janneke Stolwijk-Swuste, Florian van Ginkel, Janneke Nachtegaal, Erwin Zoetendal, Renate Winkels, Ben Witteman
Summary: The review examined the gut microbiota in SCI and MS patients, suggesting that alpha diversity may be lower in chronic SCI patients compared to healthy controls, while it may be similar or lower in MS patients. Most studies did not account for potential confounding factors like diet, antibiotic use, and bowel function.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Eva Widerstrom-Noga, Kimberly D. Anderson, Linda E. Robayo, Salome Perez, Alberto Martinez-Arizala, Lindsey Calle-Coule, Nicholas P. Cherup, Gabriel E. Fernandez
Summary: Many people with spinal cord injury (SCI) suffer from chronic pain, including neuropathic pain, which is often difficult to treat due to its complex nature. A multimodal approach, involving pharmacological treatments, physical rehabilitation, cognitive training, and pain education, may be the most effective strategy for managing pain in this population. This study developed an educational resource called SeePain, which was evaluated and modified based on stakeholder input, including SCI patients, their loved ones, and healthcare providers. The final resource is a comprehensive guide intended to improve health literacy and enhance communication between SCI patients and their healthcare providers. Future research will validate the effectiveness of SeePain using a large sample of SCI patients.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Giuseppe Forte, Valentina Giuffrida, Angelica Scuderi, Mariella Pazzaglia
Summary: Neuropathic pain is a common chronic condition that severely affects patients with spinal cord injuries. Current treatment options are limited, but nanomedicine shows potential for improving therapeutic efficacy. However, its application in treating neuropathic pain following spinal cord injuries still needs further improvement.
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Saher Suleman, Matthew Harwood, Paul Kang, Ram Narayan, Jeremy N. Hughes
Summary: Several studies have shown that spinal cord volume loss is associated with disease progression and clinical disability in adult-onset multiple sclerosis (AOMS) patients. However, there is a lack of complementary studies on young patients with pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (POMS). This retrospective study found no significant difference in spinal cord areas and volumes between POMS patients and healthy controls. This contrasts with previous findings in AOMS patients.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Britta Matusche, Ludmila Litvin, Ruth Schneider, Barbara Bellenberg, Mark Muehlau, Viola Pongratz, Achim Berthele, Sergiu Groppa, Muthuraman Muthuraman, Frauke Zipp, Friedemann Paul, Heinz Wiendl, Sven G. Meuth, Philipp Saemann, Frank Weber, Ralf A. Linker, Tania Kuempfel, Ralf Gold, Carsten Lukas
Summary: The aim of this study was to analyze the extent of pseudoatrophy in the upper spinal cord during the first 2 years after therapy initiation and compare this to the brain. The results suggest that pseudoatrophy occurs not only in the brain, but also in the spinal cord during the first year of interferon-beta treatment.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Fangliang Guo, Xiaolong Zheng, Ziyu He, Ruoying Zhang, Song Zhang, Minghuan Wang, Hong Chen, Wei Wang
Summary: The study found that long-term treatment with NMD helps to improve locomotion, pain-related behaviors, and spasticity-like symptoms in rats with SCI, but has less effect on open-field activity, hind limb grip strength, and bladder function. Additionally, NMD-treated rats showed greater tissue preservation, reduced lesion areas, and increased perilesional neuronal sparing, suggesting a potential therapeutic strategy for SCI treatment.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Jan Rosner, Robin Lutolf, Pascal Hostettler, Michael Villiger, Ron Clijsen, Erich Hohenauer, Marco Barbero, Armin Curt, Michele Hubli
Summary: This clinimetric study aimed to assess the reliability of standardized quantitative pain drawings in adults with paraplegic spinal cord injury and neuropathic pain. The results showed that pain extent can be reliably assessed using pain drawings, and there is a correlation between sensory loss and pain extent.
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Jeffery S. Johns, Klaus Krogh, Karen Ethans, Joanne Chi, Matthew Queree, Janice J. Eng
Summary: The study investigated the current pharmacological management of neurogenic bowel dysfunction in patients with SCI and MS, revealing a discrepancy between the number of prescribed agents and the limited amount of literature, especially for MS where literature was almost nonexistent.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Review
Neurosciences
David Ramos, Celia Duarte Cruz
Summary: In recent years, microglia have been recognized as playing a key role in the development of chronic neuropathic pain following peripheral nervous system injury. This review focuses on post-spinal cord injury (SCI) microglial activation and its connection to the emergence and maintenance of chronic neuropathic pain after SCI. While the number of studies investigating microglial activity in SCI models is relatively small compared to those using peripheral nerve injury models, there is evidence supporting microglial involvement in central neuropathic pain. Changes in microglial activity are accompanied by molecular changes, including receptor expression and signaling pathway activation. Microglia may be important players and potential therapeutic targets for neuropathic pain.
REVIEWS IN THE NEUROSCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Charidimos Tsagkas, Antal Huck-Horvath, Alessandro Cagol, Tanja Haas, Michael Amann, Muhamed Barakovic, Esther Ruberte, Lester Melie-Garcia, Matthias Weigel, Simon Pezold, Regina Schlaeger, Jens Kuhle, Till Sprenger, Ludwig Kappos, Oliver Bieri, Philippe Cattin, Cristina Granziera, Katrin Parmar
Summary: This study investigated longitudinal changes of cervical spinal cord (cSC) gray and white matter areas in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The results showed that patients with clinical progression had a faster reduction of cSC areas over time compared to stable patients. Additionally, compared to patients without clinical progression and healthy controls, only patients with clinical progression demonstrated a preferential reduction of cSC and white matter areas at the level of cSC enlargement.
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS AND RELATED DISORDERS
(2023)
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Fredrika S. Magnuson, Peter Christensen, Andrei Krassioukov, Gianna Rodriguez, Anton Emmanuel, Steven Kirshblum, Klaus Krogh
Summary: Neurogenic bowel dysfunction is a common problem among individuals with spinal cord injury or multiple sclerosis, often resulting in constipation, difficulty with bowel evacuation, and fecal incontinence. The current treatment algorithm does not fully align with clinical practice, calling for an updated version to guide healthcare professionals in treating NBD.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2023)