Combining therapeutic strategies with rehabilitation improves motor recovery in animal models of spinal cord injury: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Despite the lack of clinically validated strategies for treating spinal cord injury (SCI), combining therapeutic strategies with rehabilitation is believed to promote recovery of motor function; however, current research findings are inconsistent.
OBJECTIVES
To explore whether combination therapy involving therapy and rehabilitative training (CIRT) has a synergistic effect on motor function recovery in animal models of SCI.
METHODS
We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies identified in a keyword search of 6 databases and extracted open-field motor scores from the Basso Mouse Scale (BMS) and the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan Locomotor Rating Scale (BBB) for meta-analysis using a weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95 % CI. We also performed qualitative synthesis and analysis of secondary outcome measures related to histological improvements and adverse effects.
RESULTS
Eighty-seven preclinical studies were included. Combination treatment with treadmill training resulted in a significant improvement in motor function (1.40, 95 % CI 0.82 to 1.98, P < 0.01, I2 = 49 %), especially when initiated 1-2 weeks post-injury (1.77, 95 % CI 1.10 to 2.45, P < 0.01, I2 = 33 %) in rats. In mice, CIRT lasting <6 weeks may enhance recovery (0.95, 95 % CI 0.49 to 1.40, P < 0.01, I2 = 33 %). Although there is a trend toward better outcomes in the chronic phase, insufficient sample sizes prevent definitive conclusions from being drawn. Combined therapy also enhances…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in animal, not in people. Its evidence level is 5 of 5 (Very low · case / narrative / animal / in vitro / in silico). Case reports, narrative reviews, and animal, cell or computer-model studies give the weakest evidence for human health.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Improving the translation of search strategies using the Polyglot Search Translator: a randomized controlled trial
- Nutritional, Physical, Cognitive, and Combination Interventions and Frailty Reversal Among Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial
- Clinical characteristics and risk factors associated with COVID-19 severity in patients with haematological malignancies in Italy: a retrospective, multicentre, cohort study
- A randomized, controlled trial of oral propranolol in infantile hemangioma
- Clinical phenotypes of delirium during critical illness and severity of subsequent long-term cognitive impairment: a prospective cohort study
- Increased physical activity improves sleep and mood outcomes in inactive people with insomnia: a randomized controlled trial
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.