Department of Otology and Laryngology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2011 Jan;144(1):53-9. doi: 10.1177/0194599810390892.
To evaluate whether a series of pharmacologic agents with potential neuroprotective effects accelerate and/or improve facial function recovery after facial nerve crush injury.
Randomized animal study.
Tertiary care facility.
Eighty female Wistar-Hannover rats underwent head restraint implantation and daily conditioning. Animals then underwent unilateral crush injury to the main trunk of the facial nerve and were randomized to receive treatment with atorvastatin (n = 10), sildenafil (n = 10), darbepoetin (n = 20), or a corresponding control agent (n = 40). The return of whisking function was tracked throughout the recovery period.
All rats initiated the return of whisking function from nerve crush by day 12. Darbepoetin-treated rats (n = 20) showed significantly improved whisking amplitude and velocity across the recovery period, with several days of significant pairwise differences vs comparable control rats (n = 16) across the first 2 weeks of whisking function return. In contrast, rats treated with sildenafil (n = 10) and atorvastatin (n = 10) did not show significant improvement in whisking function recovery after facial nerve crush compared to controls. By week 8, all darbepoetin-treated animals and comparable nerve crush control animals fully recovered whisking function and were statistically indistinguishable.
Among the 3 potentially neuroprotective agents evaluated, only darbepoetin administration resulted in accelerated recovery of whisking parameters after facial nerve crush injury. Further efforts to define the mechanism of action and translate these findings to the use of darbepoetin in the care of patients with traumatic facial paralysis are needed.
评估一系列具有潜在神经保护作用的药物是否能加速和/或改善面神经挤压损伤后的面部功能恢复。
随机动物研究。
三级保健设施。
80 只雌性 Wistar-Hannover 大鼠接受头部固定器植入和日常训练。动物随后接受单侧面神经主干挤压损伤，并随机接受阿托伐他汀（n = 10）、西地那非（n = 10）、达贝泊汀（n = 20）或相应对照剂（n = 40）治疗。在整个恢复期跟踪 whisking 功能的恢复情况。
所有大鼠在神经挤压后第 12 天开始恢复 whisking 功能。达贝泊汀治疗组（n = 20）在整个恢复期内 whisking 幅度和速度均有显著改善，在前 2 周的 whisking 功能恢复过程中，与可比对照组（n = 16）相比，有几天存在显著的两两差异。相比之下，西地那非（n = 10）和阿托伐他汀（n = 10）治疗的大鼠在面神经挤压后 whisking 功能恢复方面没有显著改善。到第 8 周，所有达贝泊汀治疗组动物和可比神经挤压对照组动物均完全恢复了 whisking 功能，且无统计学差异。
在所评估的 3 种潜在神经保护剂中，只有达贝泊汀给药可加速面神经挤压损伤后 whisking 参数的恢复。需要进一步努力确定其作用机制，并将这些发现转化为达贝泊汀在创伤性面瘫患者护理中的应用。
