Statistics on the burden of dementia: need for stronger data

www.thelancet.com/neurology Vol 18 January 2019 25 attributable to SCI is difficult to appreciate fully. The consequences of an AIS grade A (ie, complete) SCI, for example, are very different from those of an AIS grade D injury. With additional data from large regional, national, and international registries of patients with SCI, we hope that future iterations of this study will be appropriately positioned to provide more accurate and granular estimates of the burden of SCI. All in all, the GBD 2016 TBI and SCI Collaborators’ study is a formidable undertaking and the authors are to be congratulated for this important contribution to the literature. This study serves as a sobering reminder that, despite improvements in access to, and quality of, trauma care, the effects of neurotrauma continue to loom large on a global scale. We hope, however, that, by illuminating the ongoing and profound effects of TBI and SCI internationally, studies such as this one will inspire and invigorate clinicians, researchers, and policy makers to redouble efforts to develop improved prevention and treatment strategies.