Department of Ultrasound, Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Acad Radiol. 2010 Dec;17(12):1492-7. doi: 10.1016/j.acra.2010.07.007. Epub 2010 Oct 6.
The blood perfusion of peripheral nerves plays an important role in regeneration after nerve injury. Previous studies have shown that it is possible to quantitatively assess the blood perfusion of the tissue using contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of CEUS for quantitative assessment of the blood perfusion of the sciatic nerve in normal New Zealand white rabbits and to compare these parameters to those of surrounding skeletal muscle and the main artery in the thigh.
CEUS of the bilateral sciatic nerves was performed in 12 normal New Zealand white rabbits after a bolus injection of SonoVue (0.13 mL/kg). Pulse-inversion harmonic imaging was used for real-time CEUS. The blood perfusion of the left sciatic nerve was compared to that of its surrounding muscle, the arterial branch in the thigh, and the contralateral side.
The supplying arteries in the sciatic nerve could be demonstrated during the early phase of CEUS, followed by the homogeneous enhancement of the whole nerve. The area under the curve and the perfusion index of the sciatic nerve were higher than those of the surrounding muscle and lower than those of the arterial branch in the thigh (both P values = .000). The maximum intensity of the sciatic nerve was similar to that of skeletal muscle and lower than that of the arterial branch. The time to peak was not significantly different among the sciatic nerve, skeletal muscle, and arterial branch (P = .551). There were no differences in area under the curve, mean transit time, perfusion index, maximum intensity, and time to peak between the left and right sciatic nerves (P > .05).
CEUS may be a feasible method for the quantitative assessment of blood perfusion of the peripheral nerves.
外周神经的血液灌注在神经损伤后的再生中起着重要作用。既往研究表明，使用对比增强超声（CEUS）可以定量评估组织的血液灌注。本研究旨在评估 CEUS 定量评估正常新西兰大白兔坐骨神经血液灌注的可行性，并将这些参数与周围骨骼肌和大腿主要动脉的参数进行比较。
对 12 只正常新西兰大白兔双侧坐骨神经进行 SonoVue（0.13 mL/kg）团注后行 CEUS。采用脉冲反转谐波成像进行实时 CEUS。比较左侧坐骨神经的血液灌注与其周围肌肉、大腿动脉分支和对侧的情况。
CEUS 早期可显示坐骨神经的供血动脉，随后整个神经均匀增强。坐骨神经的曲线下面积和灌注指数均高于周围肌肉，低于大腿动脉分支（均 P 值=.000）。坐骨神经的最大强度与骨骼肌相似，低于动脉分支。坐骨神经、骨骼肌和动脉分支的达峰时间无显著差异（P =.551）。左右坐骨神经的曲线下面积、平均通过时间、灌注指数、最大强度和达峰时间均无差异（P >.05）。
CEUS 可能是一种评估外周神经血液灌注的可行方法。
