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Near-infrared assessments of skeletal muscle oxidative capacity in persons with spinal cord injury

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Abstract

After spinal cord injury (SCI) skeletal muscle decreases in size, increases in intramuscular fat, and has potential declines in mitochondrial function. Reduced mitochondrial function has been linked to the development of metabolic disease. The aim of this study was to measure mitochondrial function in persons with SCI using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Oxygen consumption of the vastus lateralis muscle was measured with NIRS during repeated short-duration arterial occlusions in nine able-bodied (AB) and nine persons with motor complete SCI. Skeletal muscle oxidative capacity (V max) was evaluated with two approaches: (1) rate constant of the recovery of oxygen consumption after exercise and (2) extrapolated maximum oxygen consumption from a progressive work test. V max as indicated by the rate constant (k) from the recovery kinetics test was lower in SCI compared with AB participants (k: SCI 0.7 ± 0.3 vs. AB 1.9 ± 0.4 min−1; p < 0.001). Time constants were SCI 91.9 ± 37.8 vs. AB 33.6 ± 8.3 s. V max from the progressive work test approached a significant difference between groups (SCI 5.1 ± 2.9 vs. AB 9.8 ± 5.5 % Hb-Mb/s; p = 0.06). NIRS measurements of V max suggest a deficit of 50–60 % in participants with SCI compared with AB controls, consistent with previous studies using 31P-MRS and muscle biopsies. NIRS measurements can assess mitochondrial capacity in people with SCI and potentially other injured/diseased populations.

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Abbreviations

AB:

Able-bodied

AIS:

American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale

ATP:

Adenosine triphosphate

ATT:

Adipose tissue thickness

MRS:

Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

mVO2 :

Skeletal muscle oxygen consumption

NIRS:

Near-infrared spectroscopy

PCr:

Phosphocreatine

SCI:

Spinal cord injury

SDH:

Succinate dehydrogenase

V max :

Skeletal muscle oxidative capacity

31P-MRS:

31-Phosphorous magnetic resonance spectroscopy

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Jared Brizendine for his assistance in data collection. Funded in part by NIH R01 HD039676.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Georgia, Athens, USA

    Melissa Lynn Erickson, Terence E. Ryan, Hui-Ju Young & Kevin K. McCully

  2. 330 River Road, Athens, GA, 30605, USA

    Melissa Lynn Erickson

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  1. Melissa Lynn Erickson
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  2. Terence E. Ryan
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  4. Kevin K. McCully
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Correspondence to Melissa Lynn Erickson.

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Communicated by Michael Lindinger.

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Erickson, M.L., Ryan, T.E., Young, HJ. et al. Near-infrared assessments of skeletal muscle oxidative capacity in persons with spinal cord injury. Eur J Appl Physiol 113, 2275–2283 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-013-2657-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-013-2657-0

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