Arthritis related interests in spinal cord injury.

National concern about traumatic spinal cord injury almost 2 decades ago led federal authorities to establish the Regional Spinal Injury Care Systems and a common database to study this condition. Thirteen years of collaborative data collection have provided valuable experience and information for the planning of spinal cord injury research. This approach may also apply to other categories of patients who have multiple variables associated with the clinical picture, treatment and outcome, and in whom the demonstration of treatment effectiveness requires longterm studies of large numbers of patients. Certain complications seen in patients with spinal cord injury including heterotopic ossification, joint changes, and dermal fibrosis, may provide models for the understanding of certain bone and collagen diseases.