Neurobiology of Aging
Volume 31, Issue 3 , Pages 434-446 , March 2010

Is age a key determinant of mortality and neurological outcome after acute traumatic spinal cord injury?

  • Julio C. Furlan

      Affiliations

    • Department of Genetics and Development, Toronto Western Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    • Krembil Neuroscience Centre, Spinal Program, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada
    • ,
  • Michael B. Bracken

      Affiliations

    • Center for Perinatal, Pediatric and Environmental Epidemiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
    • ,
  • Michael G. Fehlings

      Affiliations

    • Department of Genetics and Development, Toronto Western Research Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    • Krembil Neuroscience Centre, Spinal Program, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto, Canada
    • Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author at: Krembil Neuroscience Centre, Spinal Program, Toronto Western Hospital, Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, University of Toronto, 399 Bathurst Street, 4W449 Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T 2S8. Tel.: +1 416 603 5627; fax: +1 416 603 5745.

Received 10 December 2007 ,Revised 8 April 2008 ,Accepted 1 May 2008.

References 

  1. Benedict RC, Ganikos ML. Coming to terms with ageism in rehabilitation. J. Rehabil. 1981;47:10–18
  2. Bergman E, Ulfhake B. Evidence for loss of myelinated input to the spinal cord in senescent rats. Neurobiol. Aging. 2002;23:271–286
  3. Bracken MB, Hildreth N, Freeman DH, Webb SB. Relationship between neurological and functional status after acute spinal cord injury: an epidemiological study. J. Chronic Dis. 1980;33:115–125
  4. Bracken MB, Shepard MJ, Collins WF, Holford TR, Young W, Baskin DS, et al. A randomized, controlled trial of methylprednisolone or naloxone in the treatment of acute spinal-cord injury. Results of the Second National Acute Spinal Cord Injury Study. N. Engl. J. Med. 1990;322:1405–1411
  5. Bracken MB, Shepard MJ, Collins WF, Holford TR, Baskin DS, Eisenberg HM, et al. Methylprednisolone or naloxone treatment after acute spinal cord injury: 1-year follow-up data. Results of the second National Acute Spinal Cord Injury Study. J. Neurosurg. 1992;76:23–31
  6. Chaovipoch P, Jelks KA, Gerhold LM, West EJ, Chongthammakun S, Floyd CL. 17beta-estradiol is protective in spinal cord injury in post- and pre-menopausal rats. J. Neurotrauma. 2006;23:830–852
  7. Cifu D, Seel R, Kreutzer J, Martwitz J, McKinley W, Wisor D. Age, outcome, and rehabilitation costs after tetraplegia spinal cord injury. NeuroRehabilitation. 1999;12:177–185
  8. Cifu DX, Huang ME, Kolakowsky-Hayner SA, Seel RT. Age, outcome, and rehabilitation costs after paraplegia caused by traumatic injury of the thoracic spinal cord, conus medullaris, and cauda equina. J. Neurotrauma. 1999;16:805–815
  9. Cifu DX, Seel RT, Kreutzer JS, McKinley WO. A multicenter investigation of age-related differences in lengths of stay, hospitalization charges, and outcomes for a matched tetraplegia sample. Arch. Phys. Med. Rehabil. 1999;80:733–740
  10. Cowen T, Woodhoo A, Sullivan CD, Jolly R, Crutcher KA, Wyatt S, et al. Reduced age-related plasticity of neurotrophin receptor expression in selected sympathetic neurons of the rat. Aging Cell. 2003;2:59–69
  11. Dai LY. Acute central cervical cord injury: the effect of age upon prognosis. Injury. 2001;32:195–199
  12. DeVivo MJ, Krause JS, Lammertse DP. Recent trends in mortality and causes of death among persons with spinal cord injury. Arch. Phys. Med. Rehabil. 1999;80:1411–1419
  13. El Masry WS, Tsubo M, Katoh S, El Miligui YH, Khan A. Validation of the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) motor score and the National Acute Spinal Cord Injury Study (NASCIS) motor score. Spine. 1996;21:614–619
  14. Elder GA, Friedrich VL, Margita A, Lazzarini RA. Age-related atrophy of motor axons in mice deficient in the mid-sized neurofilament subunit. J. Cell Biol. 1999;146:181–192
  15. Fehlings MG, Tator CH. The relationships among the severity of spinal cord injury, residual neurological function, axon counts, and counts of retrogradely labeled neurons after experimental spinal cord injury. Exp. Neurol. 1995;132:220–228
  16. Frolkis VV, Tanin SA, Gorban YN. Age-related changes in axonal transport. Exp. Gerontol. 1997;32:441–450
  17. Gerhart KA, Koziol-McLain J, Lowenstein SR, Whiteneck GG. Quality of life following spinal cord injury: knowledge and attitudes of emergency care providers. Ann. Emerg. Med. 1994;23:807–812
  18. Gershkoff AM, Cifu DX, Means KM. Geriatric rehabilitation. 1. Social, attitudinal, and economic factors. Arch. Phys. Med. Rehabil. 1993;74:S402–S405
  19. Gwak YS, Hains BC, Johnson KM, Hulsebosch CE. Locomotor recovery and mechanical hyperalgesia following spinal cord injury depend on age at time of injury in rat. Neurosci. Lett. 2004;362:232–235
  20. Haug H, Kuhl S, Mecke E, Sass NL, Wasner K. The significance of morphometric procedures in the investigation of age changes in cytoarchitectonic structures of human brain. J. Hirnforsch. 1984;25:353–374
  21. Haug H. History of neuromorphometry. J. Neurosci. Methods. 1986;18:1–17
  22. Hesse KA, Campion EW, Karamouz N. Attitudinal stumbling blocks to geriatric rehabilitation. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc. 1984;32:747–750
  23. Irwin ZN, Arthur M, Mullins RJ, Hart RA. Variations in injury patterns, treatment, and outcome for spinal fracture and paralysis in adult versus geriatric patients. Spine. 2004;29:796–802
  24. Jackson AB, Dijkers M, Devivo MJ, Poczatek RB. A demographic profile of new traumatic spinal cord injuries: change and stability over 30 years. Arch. Phys. Med. Rehabil. 2004;85:1740–1748
  25. Jackson AP, Haak MH, Khan N, Meyer PR. Cervical spine injuries in the elderly: acute postoperative mortality. Spine. 2005;30:1524–1527
  26. Kameyama T, Hashizume Y, Ando T, Takahashi A. Morphometry of the normal cadaveric cervical spinal cord. Spine. 1994;19:2077–2081
  27. Kirshblum S, Millis S, McKinley W, Tulsky D. Late neurologic recovery after traumatic spinal cord injury. Arch. Phys. Med. Rehabil. 2004;85:1811–1817
  28. Long JM, Mouton PR, Jucker M, Ingram DK. What counts in brain aging? Design-based stereological analysis of cell number. J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. 1999;54:B407–B417
  29. McDonald JW, Belegu V. Demyelination and remyelination after spinal cord injury. J. Neurotrauma. 2006;23:345–359
  30. McKinley W, Cifu D, Seel R, Huang M, Kreutzer J, Drake D, et al. Age-related outcomes in persons with spinal cord injury: a summary paper. NeuroRehabilitation. 2003;18:83–90
  31. Medana IM, Esiri MM. Axonal damage: a key predictor of outcome in human CNS diseases. Brain. 2003;126:515–530
  32. Noreau L, Proulx P, Gagnon L, Drolet M, Laramee MT. Secondary impairments after spinal cord injury: a population-based study. Am. J. Phys. Med. Rehabil. 2000;79:526–535
  33. O’Connor PJ. Survival after spinal cord injury in Australia. Arch. Phys. Med. Rehabil. 2005;86:37–47
  34. O’Connor PJ. Trends in spinal cord injury. Accid. Anal. Prev. 2006;38:71–77
  35. Pickett W, Simpson K, Walker J, Brison RJ. Traumatic spinal cord injury in Ontario, Canada. J. Trauma. 2003;55:1070–1076
  36. Roth EJ, Lovell L, Heinemann AW, Lee MY, Yarkony GM. The older adult with a spinal cord injury. Paraplegia. 1992;30:520–526
  37. Schmidt RE. Age-related sympathetic ganglionic neuropathology: human pathology and animal models. Auton. Neurosci. 2002;96:63–72
  38. Seel RT, Huang ME, Cifu DX, Kolakowsky-Hayner SA, McKinley WO. Age-related differences in length of stays, hospitalization costs, and outcomes for an injury-matched sample of adults with paraplegia. J. Spinal Cord Med. 2001;24:241–250
  39. Spivak JM, Weiss MA, Cotler JM, Call M. Cervical spine injuries in patients 65 and older. Spine. 1994;19:2302–2306
  40. Strauss DJ, Devivo MJ, Paculdo DR, Shavelle RM. Trends in life expectancy after spinal cord injury. Arch. Phys. Med. Rehabil. 2006;87:1079–1085
  41. Tanaka Y. Morphological changes of the cervical spinal canal and cord due to aging. Nippon Seikeigeka Gakkai Zasshi. 1984;58:873–886
  42. Teasell RW, Arnold JM, Krassioukov A, Delaney GA. Cardiovascular consequences of loss of supraspinal control of the sympathetic nervous system after spinal cord injury. Arch. Phys. Med. Rehabil. 2000;81:506–516
  43. Terao S, Sobue G, Hashizume Y, Shimada N, Mitsuma T. Age-related changes of the myelinated fibers in the human corticospinal tract: a quantitative analysis. Acta Neuropathol. (Berl.). 1994;88:137–142
  44. Waters RL, Adkins RH, Yakura JS, Sie I. Motor and sensory recovery following complete tetraplegia. Arch. Phys. Med. Rehabil. 1993;74:242–247
  45. Wyndaele M, Wyndaele JJ. Incidence, prevalence and epidemiology of spinal cord injury: what learns a worldwide literature survey?. Spinal Cord. 2006;44:523–529
  46. Zhou M, Goto N, Otsuka N, Moriyama H, Nakamura Y. Morphometric analyses of axons in the lateral corticospinal tract with ageing process. Okajimas Folia Anat. Jpn. 1997;74:133–138

PII: S0197-4580(08)00146-2

doi: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2008.05.003

Neurobiology of Aging
Volume 31, Issue 3 , Pages 434-446 , March 2010

Article Tools

* Image Usage & Resolution