News Release

Spinal cord injury puts patients at high risk of life-threatening cardiovascular events

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News

<i>Journal of Neurotrauma</i>

image: Journal of Neurotrauma is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published 24 times per year in print and online that focuses on the latest advances in the clinical and laboratory investigation of traumatic brain and spinal cord injury. view more 

Credit: ©2012 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

New Rochelle, NY, November 5, 2012—Spinal cord injury (SCI) can disrupt the body's sensitive signaling mechanisms that control blood pressure, breathing, and oxygen delivery to the heart and other organs during changes in body position. Cardiovascular (CV) disease is a leading cause of illness and death following SCI, and changes in baroreflex sensitivity—the body's ability to detect and respond to changes in blood pressure—may be predictive of a CV event. A comprehensive review article on baroreflex sensitivity after SCI is published in Journal of Neurotrauma, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Neurotrauma website at http://www.liebertpub.com/neu.

Aaron Phillips, Andrei Krassioukov, Philip Ainslie, and Darren Warburton, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, detail the current techniques available to measure baroreflex function, describe the mechanisms and role of normal baroreflex function, and summarize the body of literature on baroreflex function after SCI. In the article "Baroreflex Function after Spinal Cord Injury," the authors propose potential mechanisms to explain the baroreflex dysfunction that can occur following SCI and they recommend directions for future research studies.

"In addition to altering motor function, spinal cord injury can produce a range of serious complications including cardiovascular dysfunction and other quality of life issues," says Journal of Neurotrauma Deputy Editor W. Dalton Dietrich III, PhD, Scientific Director, The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, and Kinetic Concepts Distinguished Chair in Neurosurgery, Professor of Neurological Surgery, Neurology and Cell Biology at University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Lois Pope LIFE Center. "This informative review article by an expert panel of researchers provides new information regarding mechanisms underlying autonomic dysfunction in people living with SCI. More attention and research are needed to develop and test new treatments targeting the causes of baroreflex dysfunction after SCI that can improve cardiovascular function in these individuals."

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About the Journal

Journal of Neurotrauma is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published 24 times per year in print and online that focuses on the latest advances in the clinical and laboratory investigation of traumatic brain and spinal cord injury. Emphasis is on the basic pathobiology of injury to the nervous system, and the papers and reviews evaluate preclinical and clinical trials targeted at improving the early management and long-term care and recovery of patients with traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neurotrauma is the Official Journal of the National Neurotrauma Society and the International Neurotrauma Society. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Neurotrauma website at http://www.liebertpub.com/neu.

About the Publisher

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Therapeutic Hypothermia and Temperature Management, Tissue Engineering, and Brain Connectivity. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 70 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website at http://www.liebertpub.com.

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 140 Huguenot St., New Rochelle, NY 10801-5215
Phone: (914) 740-2100 (800) M-LIEBERT Fax: (914) 740-2101
www.liebertpub.com


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