Spinal Cord Injury and Concomitant Traumatic Brain Injury

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Abstract
One-hundred fifty persons with traumatic onset spinal cord injury (SCI) were administered a comprehensive neuropsychologic test battery an average of 7 weeks after SCI, and 67 were retested using the same battery an average of 38 weeks after initial testing. It was hypothesized that if traumatic brain injury were a significant sequela of SCI, retesting would reveal evidence of cognitive recovery over time and would further enable a clearer separation of preinjury cognitive capacity from the effects of injury. Significant improvement in test performance occurred across time to the degree and in a pattern similar to that noted in persons who have sustained mild to moderate traumatic brain injury. Hypothesized relationships between level and extent of SCI, etiology of injury and presence/absence of loss of consciousness and neuropsychologic test scores were not observed. Implications for the rehabilitation process are discussed.

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