Posters
Presenting Author Academic/Professional Position
Sravani Mannuru
Academic Level (Author 1)
Medical Student
Discipline/Specialty (Author 1)
Neuroscience
Discipline Track
Patient Care
Abstract Type
Research/Clinical
Abstract
Background: Spinal cord injury causes debilitating functional loss in post-trauma patients. Previous studies have showed that an area of edema (tissue damage and swelling) occurs at the level of spinal damage and may be related to the amount of functional loss in the patient and their associated recovery potential. We hypothesized that the extent of the injury is greater than previously studied and may better explain functional loss and recovery potential.
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed five T2-weighted MRI spinal cord images from post-trauma patients ages 32-67. Patients had a clinically diagnosed spinal cord injury that affected the cervical segment of the spinal cord (C2-C8) and were at least 18 months post-trauma. The area of edema was evaluated through a software system, fsleyes, which allows us to interpret the extent of injury. We determined the total volume of injury and related it to the overall volume of the assessed spinal cord.
Results: We observed that the extent of injury ranged across our 5 analyzed patients. We found that the percent of spinal cord damage in the cervical spinal cord ranged from 10.7% to 48.8%. Interestingly, we did not observe that the amount of spinal cord damage influenced clinical grading of functional ability in our cohort.
Conclusions: Our work suggests that physical damage to the spinal cord may extend far beyond the level of injury. In subsequent analyses, we seek to define the relationship between the extent of injury and functional ability and recovery of the patient.
Presentation Type
Poster
Recommended Citation
Mannuru, Sravani; Uppati, Sarvani; and Baker, Kelsey, "How far does it go? An analysis on the extent of spinal cord injury in post-traumatic patients" (2025). Research Colloquium. 49.
https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/colloquium/2022/posters/49
Included in
How far does it go? An analysis on the extent of spinal cord injury in post-traumatic patients
Background: Spinal cord injury causes debilitating functional loss in post-trauma patients. Previous studies have showed that an area of edema (tissue damage and swelling) occurs at the level of spinal damage and may be related to the amount of functional loss in the patient and their associated recovery potential. We hypothesized that the extent of the injury is greater than previously studied and may better explain functional loss and recovery potential.
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed five T2-weighted MRI spinal cord images from post-trauma patients ages 32-67. Patients had a clinically diagnosed spinal cord injury that affected the cervical segment of the spinal cord (C2-C8) and were at least 18 months post-trauma. The area of edema was evaluated through a software system, fsleyes, which allows us to interpret the extent of injury. We determined the total volume of injury and related it to the overall volume of the assessed spinal cord.
Results: We observed that the extent of injury ranged across our 5 analyzed patients. We found that the percent of spinal cord damage in the cervical spinal cord ranged from 10.7% to 48.8%. Interestingly, we did not observe that the amount of spinal cord damage influenced clinical grading of functional ability in our cohort.
Conclusions: Our work suggests that physical damage to the spinal cord may extend far beyond the level of injury. In subsequent analyses, we seek to define the relationship between the extent of injury and functional ability and recovery of the patient.
