SynthesisFrontiers in neurology
The impact of aging on locomotor recovery in preclinical models of traumatic spinal cord injury: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Frontiers in neurology. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: Aging is known to influence recovery following spinal cord injury (SCI) however its specific impact on locomotor outcomes remains underexplored. Understanding these age-related differences is critical for developing targeted rehabilitation strategies and improving the translational relevance of SCI research. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effect of aging on locomotor recovery in animal models of traumatic SCI. Methods: A systematic search of MEDLINE and Embase was conducted to identify studies assessing the impact of aging on post-SCI locomotor outcomes. Inclusion criteria encompassed preclinical studies comparing locomotor recovery between young and aged animals following SCI. Extracted data included sample characteristics, SCI model, locomotor outcome measures, timing of evaluation, and key findings. Risk of bias was assessed using the SYRCLE checklist. Results: Of 3,118 unique records screened, nine studies met inclusion criteria. Included animals were grouped into young (mean 2.5 months), intermediate (mean 11.4 months), and aged (mean 21.5 months) categories, with individual ages ranging from 4 weeks to 28 months. Six studies used rats and three studies used mice. In total, more than 340 animals were studied. SCI models included cord contusion (6/9, 66.7%), hemisection (2/9, 22.2%), and clip compression (1/9, 11.1%). Seven (7/9, 77.8%) studies employed the Basso, Beattie, Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor score as the primary outcome measure. Older animals demonstrated significantly lower BBB scores post-injury compared to younger counterparts in 100% (7/7) of studies using this outcome. Other measures of locomotor outcomes included the Basso Mouse Scale, CatWalk, and Digigait. Notably, one study reported that pre-injury and post-injury exercise improved locomotor recovery in aged rats to levels comparable with young rats. Conclusion: Aging is associated with poorer locomotor recovery following traumatic SCI in preclinical models. These findings underscore the importance of age as a biological variable in SCI research and suggest that rehabilitative interventions, such as exercise, may have potential to mitigate age-related deficits. Future studies should seek to define the mechanistic pathways underlying impaired recovery with age and evaluate targeted therapies that enhance neuroplasticity and functional recovery. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42022230021.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.