Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) is a physically debilitative impairment with a poor prognosis that disrupts the connection between the brain and body. Reduced somatic and autonomic nervous system control over motor and sensory function of muscles and organs causes paralysis and dysregulation of physiological systems. Complications, such as deep vein thromboses, urinary tract infections, and chronic pain, often cause high, life-long economic burdens. Seniors with SCI also have an increased risk of developing cognitive decline. Development of Major Neurocognitive Disorder (Dementia) is characterized by a reduced ability to perform daily activities. In addition to the physical impairments due to SCI, older adults would experience further decreased quality of life. There are various postulations about what contributes to an increased risk of cognitive decline in SCI patients, although the specific mechanism is uncertain. This research project is focused on examining whether blood pressure dysregulation may play a key role in inducing cognitive decline in older adults with SCI. To fulfill this goal, published reviews and clinical and laboratory data from 1997 to 2023 have been analytically reviewed following the presentation of background physiological and pathophysiological information. The outcomes demonstrated that SCI above T6 leads to an increased risk of blood pressure dysregulation and other conditions associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline, including orthostatic hypotension, vascular dementia, and deficient dynamic cerebral autoregulation. Overall, the findings suggest that blood pressure dysregulation that causes cerebral hypoperfusion may be a major contributor to cognitive decline in older adults with SCI.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/48122 |
| Date | 15 February 2024 |
| Creators | Chen, Harriet |
| Contributors | Symes, Karen, Teng, Yang D. |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ |
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