Absence of high amplitude propagating contractions in subjects with chronic spinal cord injury

AIM: To investigate the presence or absence of high amplitude propagating contractions (HAPC), as well as the other measures of colonic motility, in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). METHODS: Prolonged colonic ambulatory manometric studies were performed on 14 male volunteers: 8 with SCI (mean age, 59 ± 13 years; mean duration of injury, 13 ± 4 years) and 6 healthy able-bodied controls (mean age, 57 ± 10 years). A solid-state manometry catheter was endoscopically clipped to the splenic flexure. Recording was performed for > 24 h after manometric catheter placement. RESULTS: HAPC were absent in individuals with SCI during pre-sleep, sleep, and post-sleep phases. HAPC were significantly increased after awakening in non-SCI controls (0.8 ± 0.2 HAPC/h vs 10.5 ± 2.0 HAPC/h, P < 0.005). The motility index was lower in those with SCI than in controls preand post-sleep (SCI vs non-SCI: Pre-sleep, 2.4 ± 0.4 vs 8.8 ± 1.9, P < 0.01; Post-sleep, 4.3 ± 0.8 vs 16.5 ± 4.5, P < 0.05). However, a sleepinduced depression of colonic motility was observed in both the SCI and non-SCI groups (Pre-sleep vs Sleep, non-SCI: 8.8 ± 1.9 vs 2.1 ± 0.9, P < 0.002; SCI: 2.4 ± 0.4 vs 0.2 ± 0.03, P < 0.001), with the motility index of those with SCI during sleep not significantly different than that of the controls. CONCLUSION: HAPC were not observed in individuals with SCI preor post-sleep. A sleep-induced depression in general colonic motility was evident in SCI and control subjects.

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation and testosterone did not influence heterotopic ossification size after spinal cor injury: A case series

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation(NMES) and testosterone replacement therapy(TRT) are effective rehabilitation strategies to attenuate muscle atrophy and evoke hypertrophy in persons with spinal cord injury(SCI). However both interventions might increase heterotopic ossification(HO) size in SCI patients. We present the results of two men with chronic traumatic motor complete SCI who also had pre-existing HO and participated in a study investigating the effects of TRT or TRT plus NMES resistance training(RT) on body composition. The 49-year-old male, Subject A, has unilateral HO in his right thigh. The 31-year-old male, Subject B, has bilateral HO in both thighs. Both participants wore transdermal testosterone patches(4-6 mg/d) daily for 16 wk. Subject A also underwent progressive NMES-RT twice weekly for 16 wk. Magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired prior to and post intervention. Cross-sectional areas(CSA) of thewhole thigh and knee extensor skeletal muscles, femoral bone, and HO were measured. In Subject A(NMES-RT + TRT), the whole thigh skeletal muscle CSA increased by 10%, the knee extensor CSA increased by 17%, and the HO + femoral bone CSA did not change. In Subject B(TRT), the whole thigh skeletal muscle CSA increased by 13% in the right thigh and 6% in the left thigh. The knee extensor CSA increased by 7% in the right thigh and did not change in the left thigh. The femoral bone and HO CSAs in both thighs did not change. Both the TRT and NMES-RT + TRT protocols evoked muscle hypertrophy without stimulating the growth of preexisting HO.

Novel rehabilitation paradigm for restoration of hand functions after tetraplegia

The letter by Bouton et al.（2016）“Restoring cortical control of functional movement in a human with quadriplegia”presents a case report of a 24 year old male with tetraplegia（C5–6）.The goal of the work was to bypass the spinal cord injury（SCI）lesion to stimulate the right forearm muscles to perform six movements and daily functional tasks.