Higuchi Yoshinori, Nashold Blaine S, Sluijter Menno, Cosman Eric, Pearlstein Robert D
Division of Neurosurgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
Neurosurgery. 2002 Apr;50(4):850-5; discussion 856. doi: 10.1097/00006123-200204000-00030.
Application of pulsed radiofrequency (RF) currents to the dorsal ganglion has been reported to produce long-term relief of spinal pain without causing thermal ablation. The present study was undertaken to identify spinal cord neurons activated by exposure of the dorsal ganglion to pulsed RF currents in rats.
Left-sided hemilaminectomy was performed in adult Sprague-Dawley rats to expose the C6 dorsal root ganglion. An RF electrode (0.5 mm diameter) with a thermocouple for temperature monitoring was positioned on the exposed ganglion, and rats were assigned to one of three treatment groups: pulsed RF treatment (20 ms of 500-kHz RF pulses delivered at a rate of 2 Hz for 120 s to produce tissue heated to 38 degrees C), continuous RF (continuous RF currents for 120 s to produce tissue heated to 38 degrees C), or sham treatment (no RF current; electrode maintained in contact with ganglion for 120 s).
Treatment with pulsed RF but not continuous RF was associated with a significant increase in the number of cFOS-immunoreactive neurons in the superficial laminae of the dorsal horn as observed 3 hours after treatment.
Exposure of the dorsal ganglion to pulsed RF currents activates pain-processing neurons in the dorsal horn. This effect is not mediated by tissue heating.
据报道，将脉冲射频（RF）电流应用于背根神经节可长期缓解脊柱疼痛且不会导致热消融。本研究旨在确定大鼠背根神经节暴露于脉冲RF电流时被激活的脊髓神经元。
对成年Sprague-Dawley大鼠进行左侧半椎板切除术以暴露C6背根神经节。将带有用于温度监测的热电偶的RF电极（直径0.5毫米）置于暴露的神经节上，大鼠被分配到三个治疗组之一：脉冲RF治疗（以2赫兹的频率输送500千赫兹的RF脉冲20毫秒，持续120秒，以使组织加热至38摄氏度）、连续RF（连续RF电流持续120秒，以使组织加热至38摄氏度）或假治疗（无RF电流；电极与神经节接触保持120秒）。
治疗后3小时观察到，脉冲RF治疗而非连续RF治疗与背角浅层中cFOS免疫反应性神经元数量的显著增加有关。
背根神经节暴露于脉冲RF电流会激活背角中的疼痛处理神经元。这种效应不是由组织加热介导的。
