Lower Motoneuron Dysfunction Impacts Spontaneous Motor Recovery in Acute Cervical Spinal Cord Injury

Paresis after spinal cord injury (SCI) is caused by damage to upper and lower motoneurons (LMNs) and may differentially impact neurological recovery. This prospective monocentric longitudinal observational study investigated the extent and severity of LMN dysfunction and its impact on upper extremity motor recovery after acute cervical SCI. Pathological spontaneous activity at rest and/or increased discharge rates of motor unit action potentials recorded by needle electromyography (EMG) were taken as parameters for LMN dysfunction and its relation to the extent of myelopathy in the first available spine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was determined. Motor recovery was assessed by standardized neurological examination within the first four weeks (acute stage) and up to one year (chronic stage) after injury. Eighty-five muscles of 17 individuals with cervical SCI (neurological level of injury from C1 to C7) and a median age of 54 (28–59) years were examined. The results showed that muscles with signs of LMN dysfunction peaked at the lesion center (Χ(2) [2, n = 85] = 6.6, p = 0.04) and that the severity of LMN dysfunction correlated with T2-weighted hyperintense MRI signal changes in routine spine MRI at the lesion site (Spearman ρ = 0.31, p = 0.01). Muscles exhibiting signs of LMN dysfunction, as indicated by pathological spontaneous activity at rest and/or increased discharge rates of motor unit action potentials, were associated with more severe paresis in both the acute and chronic stages after SCI (Spearman ρ acute = -0.22, p = 0.04 and chronic = -0.31, p = 0.004). Moreover, the severity of LMN dysfunction in the acute stage was also associated with a greater degree of paresis (Spearman ρ acute = -0.24, p = 0.03 and chronic = -0.35, p = 0.001). While both muscles with and without signs of LMN dysfunction were capable of regaining strength over time, those without LMN dysfunctions had a higher potential to reach full strength. Muscles with signs of LMN dysfunction in the acute stage displayed increased amplitudes of motor unit action potentials with chronic-stage needle EMG, indicating reinnervation through peripheral collateral sprouting as compensatory mechanism (Χ(2) [1, n = 72] = 4.3, p = 0.04). Thus, LMN dysfunction represents a relevant factor contributing to motor impairment and recovery in acute cervical SCI. Defined recovery mechanisms (peripheral reinnervation) may at least partially underlie spontaneous recovery in respective muscles. Therefore, assessment of LMN dysfunction could help refine prediction of motor recovery after SCI.