Metabolic and endocrine changes in spinal cord injury: IV. Compounded neurologic dysfunctions.

This is the last of a 4-part series which provides a comprehensive review and analysis of the pertinent literature published over the last 25 years on the metabolic and endocrine consequences of spinal cord injury (SCI). The studies on SCI patients reviewed in this article include reports and investigations concerning calcium kinetics, bone minerals in blood and urine, collagen metabolites in urine, bone-related vitamins, hormones and enzymes, osteoporosis, urinary stones, ectopic calcifications, and bone histology and chemistry. Information from articles reviewed here is organized under the following headings: Problems studied, Methods of investigation and results, Conclusions, Summary of results, Discrepancies, Areas of research needed, and Practical clinical implications. Highlights of pertinent data contained in the original articles are organized in tables to facilitate direct comparisons between similar studies and between data on healthy and spinal cord injured subjects.