Friday, November 15, 2013

Baroreflex Function after Spinal Cord Injury

Baroreflex Function after Spinal Cord Injury
Aaron A. Phillips, Andrei V. Krassioukov, Philip N. Ainslie, and Darren E.R. Warburton. Journal of Neurotrauma. October 10, 2012, 29(15): 2431-2445. doi:10.1089/neu.2012.2507.

In this review, the authors performed a series of meta-analyses of existing studies on people with spinal cord injuries in order to draw new hypotheses about changes in baroreflex sensitivity caused by autonomic dysfunction after spinal cord injury.  By comparing a variety of data, (e.g. orthostatic intolerance, renin-angiotensin levels, blood pressure, heart rate, etc.,) in patients with injuries at high, middle, and low levels of the spinal cord, the authors were able to find new evidence of whether the dysfunction occurred due to arterial hardening, decreased sympathetic signaling, etc.
It was be noted that due to incomplete data and the large variability in the severity of spinal cord injuries in the studies they analized and the variability in locations at which these injuries occurred, drawing conclusions is exceedingly difficult, especially when considering the small sample size.

-DH

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