Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in traumatic spinal cord injury.

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) is a cytokine used in pharmaceutical preparations for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. Evidence from experimental studies indicates that G-CSF exerts relevant activities in the central nervous system (CNS) in particular after lesions. In acute, subacute, and chronic CNS lesions, G-CSF appears to have strong anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic, antioxidative, myelin-protective, and axon-regenerative activities. Additional effects result in the stimulation of angiogenesis and neurogenesis as well as in bone marrow stem cell mobilization to the CNS. There are emerging preclinical and clinical data indicating that G-CSF is a safe and effective drug for the treatment of acute and chronic traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI), which we summarize in this review.

Biomarkers in Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury-Technical and Clinical Considerations: A Systematic Review.

Objective. To examine (1) if serological or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers can be used as diagnostic and/or prognostic tools in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) and (2) if literature provides recommendations regarding timing and source of biomarker evaluation. Data Sources. A systematic literature search to identify studies reporting on diagnostic and prognostic blood and/or CSF biomarkers in SCI was conducted in PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL, Science Direct, The Cochrane Library, ISI Web of Science, and PEDro. Study Selection. Clinical trials, cohort, and pilot studies on patients with traumatic SCI investigating at least one blood or CSF biomarker were included. Following systematic screening, 19 articles were included in the final analysis. PRISMA guidelines were followed to conduct this review. Data Extraction. Independent extraction of articles was completed by 2 authors using predefined inclusion criteria and study quality indicators. Data Synthesis. Nineteen studies published between 2002 and April 2019 with 1596 patients were included in the systematic review. In 14 studies, blood biomarkers were measured, 4 studies investigated CSF biomarkers, and 1 study used both blood and CSF samples. Conclusions. Serum/CSF concentrations of several biomarkers (S100b, IL-6, GFAP, NSE, tau, TNF-α, IL-8, MCP-1, pNF-H, and IP-10) following SCI are highly time dependent and related to injury severity. Future studies need to validate these markers as true biomarkers and should control for secondary complications associated with SCI. A deeper understanding of secondary pathophysiological events after SCI and their effect on biomarker dynamics may improve their clinical significance as surrogate parameters in future clinical studies.

Functional Outcomes in Individuals Undergoing Very Early (< 5 h) and Early (5-24 h) Surgical Decompression in Traumatic Cervical Spinal Cord Injury: Analysis of Neurological Improvement from the Austrian Spinal Cord Injury Study.

Our study aim was to assess the neurological outcomes of surgical decompression and stabilization within 5 and 24 h after injury. We performed a multi-center, retrospective cohort study in adolescents and adults 15-85 years of age presenting cervical spinal cord injury (CSCI) at one of 6 Austrian trauma centers participating in the Austrian Spinal Cord Injury Study (ASCIS). Neurological outcomes were measured using the American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) grade according to the International Standards For Neurological Classification Of Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI) form after at least 6 months of follow-up (FU). Of the 49 enrolled patients with acute CSCI, 33 underwent surgical decompression within 5 h (mean 3.2 h ± 1.1 h; very early group) after injury, and 16 underwent surgical decompression between 5 and 24 h (mean 8.6 h ± 5.5 h; early group). Significant neurological improvement was observed among the entire study population between the preoperative assessment and the FU. We identified a significant difference in the AIS grade at the last FU between the groups the using Jonckheere-Terpstra test for doubly ordered crosstabs (p = 0.011) and significantly different AIS improvement rates in the early group (Poisson model, p = 0.018). Improvement by one AIS grade was observed in 31% and 42% of the patients in the early and very early groups, respectively (p = 0.54). Improvement by two AIS grades was observed in 31% and 6% of the patients in the early and very early groups, respectively (p = 0.03; relative risk [RR], 5.2; 95% CI, 1.1-35). Improvement by three AIS grades was observed in 6% and 3% of patients in the early and very early groups, respectively (p = 1.0). Decompression of the spinal cord within 24 h after SCI was associated with an improved neurological outcome. No additional neurological benefit was observed in patients who underwent decompression within 5 h of injury.

The Austrian Spinal Cord Injury Study: a registry for patients living with a traumatic spinal cord injury.

STUDY DESIGN: Establishing the structure of a prospective spinal cord injury (SCI) patient registry. OBJECTIVES: To develop a registry for patients with traumatic spinal cord injury (tSCI) in Austria as a base for addressing research questions, improving patient outcomes, and establishing a platform for future clinical trials. SETTINGS: Coordinating institution: Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Austria; participating partners are located in nine states in Austria. METHODS: The Austrian Spinal Cord Injury Study (ASCIS) collects longitudinal data on simple forms within a 7-stage follow-up examination timeline. RESULTS: The implementation of the ASCIS in 2012 created the first nationwide SCI patient registry in Austria. ASCIS is currently implemented in 17 trauma hospitals in 9 Austrian states, and over 150 individuals with acute tSCI have been registered to date. As in Austria, the structure of the health-care system does not involve a specialized SCI center covering the primary health care and the rehabilitation care, major challenges have to be overcome to involve all participating primary centers and rehabilitation centers, which perform tSCI patient care, for ASCIS. Through implementing ASCIS, a network of SCI clinicians and researchers, which is now beginning to support translational research and to initiate clinical trials for patients with tSCI, has formed. CONCLUSIONS: ASCIS is uniquely positioned in Austria to capture detailed information from the early acute to the chronic phases of tSCI, to provide this information also to bigger and translational settings, and to connect researchers and clinicians to facilitate clinical research on tSCI.