Ultrasound in Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury: A Wide-Open Field

Abstract

Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is a common and devastating condition. In the absence of effective validated therapies, there is an urgent need for novel methods to achieve injury stabilization, regeneration, and functional restoration in SCI patients. Ultrasound is a versatile platform technology that can provide a foundation for viable diagnostic and therapeutic interventions in SCI. In particular, real-time perfusion and inflammatory biomarker monitoring, focal pharmaceutical delivery, and neuromodulation are capabilities that can be harnessed to advance our knowledge of SCI pathophysiology and to develop novel management and treatment options. Our review suggests that studies that evaluate the benefits and risks of ultrasound in SCI are severely lacking and our understanding of the technology's potential impact remains poorly understood. Although the complex anatomy and physiology of the spine and the spinal cord remain significant challenges, continued technological advances will help the field overcome the current barriers and bring ultrasound to the forefront of SCI research and development.

Neuroinflammation and Scarring After Spinal Cord Injury: Therapeutic Roles of MSCs on Inflammation and Glial Scar

“…Therefore, therapies targeting SCI are to rebuild the integrity of damaged neurons, as well as avoid the secondary damage to more healthy nerve tissue surrounding the lesion ( 11 ). However, numerous studies have documented that inflammatory cells will persist in the lesion area post-SCI, and these cells further aggravate the injury of the surrounding normal spinal cord tissue by secreting various inflammatory cytokines, reactive oxygen species and proteolytic enzymes, leading to more serious neurological dysfunction ( 12 , 13 ). In addition, glial scar in the later stage forms a physical and biochemical barrier to axon regeneration ( 14 ).…”

Ultrasound monitoring of microcirculation: An original study from the laboratory bench to the clinic

“…Imaging microvasculature and measuring microcirculation velocity are important elements of monitoring health status in patients being treated for a variety of disorders, such as hypertension, systemic sclerosis, wound repair, spinal cord injury, and stroke 1–8 . Microcirculation can be visualized using either invasive or noninvasive approaches 9–11 .…”

“…Imaging microvasculature and measuring microcirculation velocity are important elements of monitoring health status in patients being treated for a variety of disorders, such as hypertension, systemic sclerosis, wound repair, spinal cord injury, and stroke. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 Microcirculation can be visualized using either invasive or noninvasive approaches. 9 , 10 , 11 Invasive or semi‐invasive techniques such as intravital microscopy, radionuclide injections, thermodilution, and iontophoresis have been used to study microcirculation.…”

A novel therapeutic approach of ultrasound stimulation to restore forelimb functions following cervical cord injury in rats

“…To the best of our knowledge, therapeutic ultrasound stimulation has not yet been explored in relation to motor recovery in chronic SCI [20,21]. Current study was designed to explore the effects of LIPUS, alone or in combination with a standard pharmacological neuromodulation, Buspirone in rats with C4 cervical cord injury.…”