Emerging concepts in the clinical management of SCI for the future

Advances across the spectrum of clinical neurosurgery and neuroscience research have transformed the management of spinal cord injury (SCI). The integration of high-resolution imaging techniques along with electrophysiological measures into clinical practice has provided novel methods to quantify injury severity and temporal plasticity. The emergence of molecular and genomic technologies has shed light on the underlying heterogeneity seen across patients with SCI and revealed candidate biomarkers with both predictive and prognostic relevance. Furthermore, novel methods to interrogate the central nervous system at both a cellular and systems level have uncovered important circuitry that underlies basic spinal cord functions and serves as the substrate for understanding disease mechanisms and developing targeted therapies. In this chapter, we identify a number of priority themes in the field of SCI that will continue to redefine the landscape of clinical practice in the next decade.