Spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the most distressing traumas since complete traumatic spinal cord injury results in paraplegia or tetraplegia. The mechanical injuries lead to axonal destruction in fiber tracts, and the glial cells and their damage secrete proteins whose presence, quantity and dynamics can be assayed and can be considered as biomarkers for traumatic SCI. This article discusses the characteristic of the biomarkers and describes their significance.
Biomarkers of SCI can be approached in two ways: Direct survey of primary structural damage using a specific unique marker (or markers) of tissue damage Measure aspects of the cellular, biochemical or molecular cascades in the secondary injury (or repair) response phase. Characteristics of ideal biomarkers: An ideal prognostic central nervous system (CNS) biochemical marker should have all of the following properties: central…
