Eccentric rehabilitation induces white matter plasticity and sensorimotor recovery in chronic spinal cord injury

This research investigates whether a specific type of exercise, downhill walking focusing on eccentric muscle contractions, can help people with chronic spinal cord injuries regain movement and sensation. The study looks at changes in the brain and spinal cord using imaging techniques. The study also uses mice with spinal cord injuries to understand how this type of exercise might be causing these improvements, focusing on the growth of new cells that help protect and insulate nerve fibers. The findings suggest that this specific exercise can indeed promote changes in the brain and spinal cord, leading to improvements in movement and sensation for those with spinal cord injuries.

• 1
  Downhill training increased myelin water fraction (MWF) in brain motor learning regions (postcentral, precuneus) and mixed motor and sensory tracts of the ventral cervical spinal cord in humans with SCI.
• 2
  In mice with thoracic SCI, downhill training induced oligodendrogenesis in cervical dorsal and lateral white matter, increased axon-oligodendroglial interactions, and normalized paranodal structure in dorsal column sensory tracts.
• 3
  Downhill training improved sensorimotor recovery in mice by normalizing hip and knee motor control and reducing hyperalgesia, both of which were associated with new oligodendrocytes in the cervical dorsal columns.