Delayed cerebrovascular reactivity in individuals with spinal cord injury in the right inferior parietal lobe: a breath-hold functional near-infrared spectroscopy study

medRxiv preprint, 2024 · DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.06.03.24307819 · Published: June 4, 2024

Spinal Cord Injury Neuroimaging Neurology

Simple Explanation

This study investigates how blood vessel response in the brain, called cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR), is affected in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). CVR shows how well blood vessels can adjust to changes, reflecting brain vascular health. The study used a technique called functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) during breath-holding to measure CVR. fNIRS is a non-invasive method to monitor brain activity by measuring changes in blood oxygen levels. The research found that individuals with SCI had delayed CVR in a specific brain region (right inferior parietal lobe) compared to able-bodied individuals, suggesting that SCI can impact the brain's vascular responses.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

20 SCI individuals and 25 able-bodied controls

Evidence Level

Not specified

Key Findings

1
Individuals with SCI showed significantly delayed CVR in the right inferior parietal lobe compared to able-bodied controls.
2
The amplitude of CVR, however, was not significantly different between the SCI and able-bodied groups.
3
In individuals with SCI, a longer duration since injury was associated with a shortened delay in CVR in the right inferior parietal region.

Research Summary

The study examined differences in CVR amplitude and delays between SCI and AB individuals using fNIRS during a hypercapnic breath-holding task. It reports significantly delayed CVR in the right inferior parietal lobe in individuals with SCI compared to AB individuals, while the amplitude of CVR was unchanged. As the duration since injury increased for individuals with SCI, CVR delay in the right inferior parietal lobe was found to decrease, suggesting adaptive CVR mechanisms.

Practical Implications

Rehabilitation Monitoring

fNIRS can be used to monitor cerebrovascular health during SCI rehabilitation.

Understanding Secondary Injury Mechanisms

Studying CVR can help understand secondary injury mechanisms after SCI.

Developing Targeted Treatments

Insights from CVR changes may lead to more effective rehabilitative treatments for SCI.

Study Limitations

1
Lack of physiological measures such as end-tidal CO2 and respiratory belt data.
2
Differences in autonomic dysfunction based on the severity of injury (thoracic vs. cervical).
3
Future studies may also want to look into using breath-hold CVR as a regressor in fNIRS studies

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