The thermic response to food intake in persons with thoracic spinal cord injury

[Purpose] To investigate the influence of the level of spinal cord injury on the thermic effect of food intake (TEF) in persons with thoracic spinal cord injury. [Subjects and Methods] Seven male subjects with spinal cord injury (SCI; age, 40 ± 6 years) and six able-bodied subjects (AB; age, 37 ± 8 years) volunteered to participate in the present study. The subjects consumed an identical test meal consisting of 7.9 kcal/kg of body weight. Energy expenditure and plasma norepinephrine concentrations were measured over a 3-hour period. [Results] The adjusted TEF at 60 min was almost the same among the three groups [AB, SCI with high thoracic cord (T5–6) injury (HSCI), and SCI with low thoracic cord (T9–12) injury (LSCI)]. Although the LSCI group had almost the same adjusted TEF at 120 min as the AB group, the adjusted TEF at 120 min of the HSCI group was significantly lower than that of the AB group. The changes in plasma norepinephrine concentration and heart rate in response to food intake were similar among the three groups. [Conclusion] SCI at the T5–6 level results in a lower TEF due to sympathetic decentralization.