Shaabani Moslem, Lotfi Yones, Karimian Seyed Morteza, Rahgozar Mehdi, Hooshmandi Mehdi
Audiology Department, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Audiology Department, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Brain Res. 2016 Oct 1;1648(Pt A):152-162. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2016.07.029. Epub 2016 Jul 18.
Current experimental research on the therapeutic effects of galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) has mainly focused on neurodegenerative disorders. However, it primarily stimulates the vestibular nuclei and could be potentially effective in modulating imbalance between them in the case of unilateral labyrinthectomy (UL). Fifty male Wistar rats (180-220g) were used in 5 groups of 10: intact, sham, right-UL (RUL; without intervention), and two other right-UL groups with GVS intervention [one group treated with low rate GVS (GVS.LF; 6-7Hz), and the other treated with high rate GVS (GVS.HF; 17-18Hz)]. The UL models were prepared by intratympanic injection of sodium arsanilate. GVS protocols were implemented 30min/day and continued for 14 days via ring-shaped copper electrodes inserted subcutaneously over each mastoid. Functional recovery was assessed by several postural tests including support surface area, landing and air-righting reflexes, and rotarod procedure. Immunohistochemical investigations were performed on ipsi- and contra-lesional medial vestibular nuclei (MVN) using bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) and Ki67, as markers of cell proliferation. Behavioral evaluations showed significant functional recovery of GVS-treated groups compared to RUL group. The percent of marked cells with BrdU and Ki67 were significantly higher in the ipsilesional MVN of both GVS-treated groups compared with other groups. Our findings confirmed the effectiveness of GVS-intervention in accelerating static and dynamic vestibular compensation. This could be explained by the cell proliferation in ipsilesional MVN cells and rapid rebalancing of the VNs and the modulation of their motor outputs. Therefore, GVS could be promising for rehabilitating patients with unilateral vestibular weakness.
目前关于直流电前庭刺激（GVS）治疗效果的实验研究主要集中在神经退行性疾病上。然而，它主要刺激前庭核，在单侧迷路切除术（UL）的情况下，可能对调节它们之间的失衡有潜在效果。五十只雄性Wistar大鼠（180 - 220克）被分为5组，每组10只：完整组、假手术组、右侧UL组（RUL；无干预），以及另外两个接受GVS干预的右侧UL组[一组接受低频GVS（GVS.LF；6 - 7Hz）治疗，另一组接受高频GVS（GVS.HF；17 - 18Hz）治疗]。通过鼓室内注射对氨基苯胂酸钠制备UL模型。通过皮下插入每个乳突上方的环形铜电极，每天实施30分钟的GVS方案，并持续14天。通过几种姿势测试评估功能恢复情况，包括支撑表面积、着陆和空中翻正反射以及转棒试验。使用溴脱氧尿苷（BrdU）和Ki67作为细胞增殖标志物，对同侧和对侧损伤的内侧前庭核（MVN）进行免疫组织化学研究。行为评估显示，与RUL组相比，GVS治疗组有显著的功能恢复。与其他组相比，两个GVS治疗组同侧MVN中用BrdU和Ki67标记的细胞百分比显著更高。我们的研究结果证实了GVS干预在加速静态和动态前庭代偿方面的有效性。这可以通过同侧MVN细胞中的细胞增殖以及前庭核的快速重新平衡及其运动输出的调节来解释。因此，GVS有望用于单侧前庭功能减退患者的康复治疗。
