Recovery prediction model for spinal cord injury

A new model based on motor scores at admission and early imaging studies has been developed for predicting functional outcomes after spinal cord injury, guiding clinicians and other decision-makers for therapy and caregiving needs.

The prediction model uses acute functional measures and evidence of injury on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including swelling and bleeding around the spinal cord, drawn from two large clinical datasets. The model was developed to guide treatment decisions, as well as classification of patients for clinical trials, and counseling of parents and relatives.

“An important goal of medical research is to identify early surrogate markers that could assist treating physicians in determining appropriate therapeutic strategies. This article provides important information that could help predict the potential for recovery after SCI and thereby direct treatment options,” says W. Dalton Dietrich, III, Ph.D., The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami, Florida, and deputy editor of the Journal.

The model is described in the article “A Clinical Prediction Model for Long-Term Functional Outcome after Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury Based on Acute Clinical and Imaging Factors” by Jefferson Wilson, M.D., Michael Fehlings, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Toronto and Toronto Western Hospital, and colleagues from the US. It was published in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.