Abstract
1. The body composition of groups of 14 paraplegic and six quadriplegic patients were compared with those of groups of other chronically ill patients, judged clinically to be either ‘Weil-nourished’ or “poorly-nourished’.
The spinal-cord injured patients had values of sodium space (expressed relative to body weight or lean body mass) similar to those of the poorly-nourished group, while in nine other parameters of body composition they resembled a well-nourished group of patients. The increased sodium space in the spinal-cord injured patients is consistent with erosion of their lean body mass. 2. The changes in body composition of three quadriplegic and four paraplegic patients were followed for varying lengths of time up to 51 months. Although many of the changes were significant in individual cases, there was no consistent trend in body composition. Both gains and losses of weight were observed, the largest factor in these being changes in body fat. Ten paraplegics showed a tendency to decrease their sodium space after 12 weeks of controlled dietary intake with significant changes in three cases.
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These studies have been supported in part by USPHS Grants A-1886, HD-00669 and VRA Grant RD-1144-M.
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Greenway, R., Houser, H., Lindan, O. et al. Long-term changes in gross body composition of paraplegic and quadriplegic patients. Spinal Cord 7, 301–318 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.1969.46
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sc.1969.46
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