Decreased Adiponectin Levels Are a Risk Factor for Cognitive Decline in Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract

Objective. Spinal cord injury (SCI) has become popular in recent years, and cognitive decline is a common complication. Adiponectin is a common protein hormone involved in the course of many diseases, but its relationship with SCI has not yet been elucidated. The purpose of our prospective study is to explore whether adiponectin can be used as a biomarker of cognitive decline in SCI. Methods. A total of 64 healthy volunteers and 92 patients with acute SCI were recruited by us. Serum adiponectin levels, demographic data (age and gender), lifestyle (smoking and drinking), medical history (diabetes and hypertension), and clinical baseline data (low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, and fasting blood glucose) were recorded. Three months after enrollment, we used the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) to evaluate cognitive function. Based on a quarter of the serum adiponectin levels, SCI patients were divided into 4 groups, and the differences in their MoCA scores were compared. In addition, we used multivariate linear regression to predict the risk factors of the MoCA score. Results. The serum adiponectin level ( 6.1 ± 1.1 μ g / ml ) of SCI patients was significantly lower than that of the healthy control group ( 6.7 ± 0.9 μ g / ml ), and there was a significant difference between the two ( p < 0.001 ). The group with higher serum adiponectin levels after 3 months of spinal cord injury had higher MoCA scores. Multivariate regression analysis showed that serum adiponectin level is a protective factor for cognitive function after SCI ( β = 0.210 , p = 0.043 ). Conclusions. Serum adiponectin levels can be used as an independent predictor of cognitive function in patients with acute SCI.

Netrin-1: A Serum Marker Predicting Cognitive Impairment after Spinal Cord Injury

“…Cognitive impairment is a widespread complication following spinal cord injury (SCI), affecting approximately 10-60% of patients [ 1 , 2 ]. Before the 1940s, only a small percentage of patients could survive for a few weeks after injury, but advances in technology have greatly improved the survival rate of SCI [ 3 , 4 ].…”

Higher serum β2-microglobulin is a predictive biomarker for cognitive impairment in spinal cord injury

“…Additionally, studies have demonstrated a relationship between systemic blood pressure and blood flow velocity and cognitive impairment following SCI ( Wecht et al, 2018 ). Our earlier research has demonstrated that neurogenesis, oxidative stress, and inflammation contribute to cognitive impairment following SCI ( Liu et al, 2022 ; Sun et al, 2021 ; Chen et al, 2020 ).…”

Serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin as a potential biomarker for cognitive decline in spinal cord injury

“…In most cases, the injury comes from physical trauma, and more than half of all injuries affect the cervical spine ( 5 ). In the US, there are roughly 20,000 new instances of SCI each year, and the per-person lifetime economic cost can be as high as 3 million US dollars ( 6 , 7 ). The annual socioeconomic impact of SCI is projected to be 2.67 billion US dollars ( 8 ).…”