Pronounced species divergence in corticospinal tract reorganization and functional recovery after lateralized spinal cord injury favors primates.

ABSTRACT: Experimental and clinical studies suggest that primate species exhibit greater recovery after lateralized compared to symmetrical spinal cord injuries. Although this observation has major implications for designing clinical trials and translational therapies, advantages in recovery of nonhuman primates over other species have not been shown statistically to date, nor have the associated repair mechanisms been identified. We monitored recovery in more than 400 quadriplegic patients and found that functional gains increased with the laterality of spinal cord damage. Electrophysiological analyses suggested that corticospinal tract reorganization contributes to the greater recovery after lateralized compared with symmetrical injuries. To investigate underlying mechanisms, we modeled lateralize

SUBMITTER: Friedli L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5669362 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature