A recent study published in Neurology has examined the impact of age on recovery after spinal cord injuries. The research, led by Chiara Pavese, MD, PhD, from the University of Pavia in Italy, analyzed data from 2,171 individuals with an average age of 47 who were admitted to spinal units participating in the European Multicenter Study about Spinal Cord Injury. Participants were monitored for a year following their injury.
The study found that while older age does not seem to affect neurological recovery—such as motor and sensory abilities—it is linked to poorer outcomes in functional recovery. This includes self-care tasks like feeding and bathing, bladder and bowel management, mobility, and walking ability. On tests measuring independence in daily activities (scored from zero to 100), participants averaged 31 points upon admission and improved to 35 points after one year. However, each additional decade of age was associated with a reduction of 4.3 points on this scale.
"With population growth and improvements in medicine, the number of people diagnosed with spinal cord injury is increasing and the average age at the time of injury is rising," said Pavese. "Despite substantial advances in medicine and surgery over the past decades, the rate of recovery after spinal cord injury has remained the same. Our results may help researchers design studies tailored by people's age to evaluate new therapies and approaches for people with spinal cord injury."
No significant relationship was observed between age and neurological outcomes such as upper or lower body strength or sensitivity to touch or pain. However, older participants showed less improvement than younger ones on all measures related to walking ability.
The study also identified a marked decrease in functional recovery among those over 70 years old. "People older than 70 need specific approaches to rehabilitation that take into account other conditions they may be living with, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes or osteoporosis, and help them with recovery that applies to their daily lives," Pavese stated.
Researchers noted a limitation: many participants from the original database were lost during follow-up after one year; limited information was available regarding why they left or if they died during this period. This could potentially influence results if those who dropped out differed significantly from those who completed the study.
Funding for this research came from several organizations including the Swiss National Science Foundation, Wings for Life Research Foundation, European Union's Horizon 2020 program, Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation, and Italian Ministry of Health.
