Which pathways must be spared in the injured human spinal cord to retain cardiovascular control?
Cardiovascular abnormalities following spinal cord injury are attributed to autonomic instability caused by a combination of changes occurring within the spinal cord, including loss of descending autonomic control and plastic changes within spinal and peripheral circuits. Previous animal studies have shown that localized disruption of the descending vasomotor pathways results in cardiovascular changes similar to those observed following cord injury. However, the location of these pathways in humans is uncertain. This chapter presents clinical and histopathological findings from individuals with spinal cord injury that associates a common area of white matter destruction with severe cardiovascular symptoms. These data provide evidence that descending vasomotor pathways in the human spinal cord project through the dorsal aspects of the lateral funiculus.
Krassioukov
Andrei
A
International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD) and School of Rehabilitation, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. krassioukov@icord.org
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D001342:Autonomic Nervous System Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology; D001369:Axons / Q000378:metabolism; D002320:Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae
D016900:Neurofilament Proteins; C051774:neurofilament protein H