Institute of Pathophysiology, School of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana (Slovenia).
Restor Neurol Neurosci. 1992 Jan 1;4(5):331-8. doi: 10.3233/RNN-1992-4504.
The purpose of this work was to examine whether, after sciatic axonotmesis, continuous low-amplitude direct current stimulation across the nerve crush lesion could affect the overall regeneration rate and shorten the time necessary to restore muscle force. Rats were randomly divided into cathode-stimulated (7 animals with a cathode stimulating electrode at the distal end of the nerve crush), anode-stimulated (6 animals with an anode stimulating electrode at the distal end of the nerve crush) and sham-treated (6 animals) groups. The recovery of muscle force was assessed by measuring the isometric tetanic contraction of the plantar flexor muscles once weekly, for five weeks in all groups. There was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05) among the three groups from the first to the third week after the nerve crush. The cathode-stimulated animals had a statistically significantly enhanced muscle force recovery in the fourth (P = 0.023) and fifth week (P = 0.003) after the nerve crush, when compared to the anode-stimulated and sham-treated groups. From the first to the fifth week after the nerve crush there was no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05) in muscle force between the anode-stimulated and sham groups. After axonotmesis, the average ratio of normalized muscle force to normalized body weight in the cathode-stimulated group reached the pre-crush control value in the fourth week following the nerve injury. This ratio was significantly lower all five weeks compared to the initial one before axonotmesis in anode-stimulated and sham-treated groups. Placing the cathode-stimulating electrode at the distal end of the nerve crush seems to have shortened the overall time of muscle force recovery. A possible mechanism for the enhancement of muscle force recovery in the cathode-stimulated group is proposed.
本工作旨在探讨坐骨神经轴索切断后，在神经挤压损伤处持续施加小振幅直流电刺激是否会影响整体再生速度并缩短恢复肌肉力量所需的时间。大鼠随机分为阴极刺激组（7 只，在神经挤压损伤的远端放置阴极刺激电极）、阳极刺激组（6 只，在神经挤压损伤的远端放置阳极刺激电极）和假手术组（6 只）。所有组每周评估一次跖屈肌等长强直收缩以评估肌肉力量的恢复情况，共持续五周。从神经挤压后的第一周到第三周，三组之间没有统计学上的显著差异（P>0.05）。与阳极刺激组和假手术组相比，阴极刺激组在第四周（P=0.023）和第五周（P=0.003）时肌肉力量恢复有统计学上的显著增强。从神经挤压后的第一周到第五周，阳极刺激组和假手术组之间的肌肉力量没有统计学上的显著差异（P>0.05）。在轴索切断后，阴极刺激组的肌肉力量与正常体重的归一化比值在神经损伤后的第四周达到了挤压前的对照值。与阳极刺激组和假手术组相比，这一比值在所有五周均显著低于轴索切断前的初始值。在神经挤压损伤的远端放置阴极刺激电极似乎缩短了肌肉力量恢复的总时间。提出了一种增强阴极刺激组肌肉力量恢复的可能机制。
