Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38895696›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in neurology2024

Evidence for reticulospinal plasticity underlying motor recovery in Brown-Séquard-plus Syndrome: a case report.

Antonia Maria Eilfort, Maria Rasenack, Björn Zörner, Armin Curt, Linard Filli

Abstract readCase Reports
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in neurology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. What Is the StartReact Effect?Acta physiologica (Oxford, England) · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Antonia Maria EilfortSpinal Cord Injury Center, Balgrist University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland.
Maria RasenackSpinal Cord Injury Center, Balgrist University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland.
Björn ZörnerSpinal Cord Injury Center, Balgrist University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland.
Armin CurtSpinal Cord Injury Center, Balgrist University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland.
Linard FilliSpinal Cord Injury Center, Balgrist University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Brown-Séquard Syndrome (BSS) is a rare neurological condition caused by a unilateral spinal cord injury (SCI). Upon initial ipsilesional hemiplegia, patients with BSS typically show substantial functional recovery over time. Preclinical studies on experimental BSS demonstrated that spontaneous neuroplasticity in descending motor systems is a key mechanism promoting functional recovery. The reticulospinal (RS) system is one of the main descending motor systems showing a remarkably high ability for neuroplastic adaptations after incomplete SCI. In humans, little is known about the contribution of RS plasticity to functional restoration after SCI. Here, we investigated RS motor drive to different muscles in a subject with Brown-Séquard-plus Syndrome (BSPS) five months post-injury using the StartReact paradigm. RS drive was compared between ipsi- and contralesional muscles, and associated with measures of functional recovery. Additionally, corticospinal (CS) drive was investigated using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in a subset of muscles. The biceps brachii showed a substantial enhancement of RS drive on the ipsi- vs. contralesional side, whereas no signs of CS plasticity were found ipsilesionally. This finding implies that motor recovery of ipsilesional elbow flexion is primarily driven by the RS system. Results were inversed for the ipsilesional tibialis anterior, where RS drive was not augmented, but motor-evoked potentials recovered over six months post-injury, suggesting that CS plasticity contributed to improvements in ankle dorsiflexion. Our findings indicate that the role of RS and CS plasticity in motor recovery differs between muscles, with CS plasticity being essential for the restoration of distal extremity motor function, and RS plasticity being important for the functional recovery of proximal flexor muscles after SCI in humans.

Indexed as

Brown-Séquard Syndromecorticospinal tractmirror activitymotor recoveryneural plasticityreticulospinal tractspinal cord injuryStartReact

Identifiers

PMID38895696
PMCPMC11183277

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.