Purpose of Review

Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) is a life-changing event with drastic implications for patients due to sensorimotor impairment and autonomous dysfunction. Current clinical evaluations focus on the assessment of injury level and severity using standardized neurological examinations. However, they fail to predict individual trajectories of recovery, which highlights the need for the development of advanced diagnostics. This narrative review identifies recent advances in the search of clinically relevant biomarkers in the field of SCI.

Recent Findings

Advanced neuroimaging and molecular biomarkers sensitive to the disease processes initiated by the SCI have been identified. These biomarkers range from advanced neuroimaging techniques, neurophysiological readouts, and molecular biomarkers identifying the concentrations of several proteins in blood and CSF samples. Some of these biomarkers improve current prediction models based on clinical readouts. Validation with larger patient cohorts is warranted.

Summary

Several biomarkers have been identified—ranging from imaging to molecular markers—that could serve as advanced diagnostic and hence supplement current clinical assessments.

中文翻译：

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改善创伤性脊髓损伤后的诊断检查：生物标志物的进展

 审查目的

创伤性脊髓损伤 (SCI) 是一种改变生活的事件，由于感觉运动障碍和自主功能障碍，对患者产生巨大影响。目前的临床评估侧重于使用标准化神经系统检查来评估损伤水平和严重程度。然而，他们无法预测个体的恢复轨迹，这凸显了开发先进诊断方法的必要性。这篇叙述性综述介绍了 SCI 领域临床相关生物标志物搜索的最新进展。

 最近的发现

先进的神经影像学和分子生物标志物对 SCI 引发的疾病过程敏感。这些生物标记物包括先进的神经成像技术、神经生理学读数和识别血液和脑脊液样本中多种蛋白质浓度的分子生物标记物。其中一些生物标志物改进了当前基于临床读数的预测模型。有必要对更大的患者群体进行验证。

 概括

已经鉴定出多种生物标志物（从成像到分子标志物），可以用作高级诊断，从而补充当前的临床评估。