Zhang Cheng, Rong Wei, Zhang Guang-Hao, Wang Ai-Hua, Wu Chang-Zhe, Huo Xiao-Lin
Beijing Key Laboratory of Bioelectromagnetism, Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Department of Orthopedics, Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital, Medical Center, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Neural Regen Res. 2018 May;13(5):869-876. doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.232483.
Our previous study revealed that early application of electrical field stimulation (EFS) with the anode at the lesion and the cathode distal to the lesion reduced injury potential, inhibited secondary injury and was neuroprotective in the dorsal corticospinal tract after spinal cord injury (SCI). The objective of this study was to further evaluate the effect of EFS on protection of anterior horn motoneurons and their target musculature after SCI and its mechanism. Rats were randomized into three equal groups. The EFS group received EFS for 30 minutes immediately after injury at T. SCI group rats were only subjected to SCI and sham group rats were only subjected to laminectomy. Luxol fast blue staining demonstrated that spinal cord tissue in the injury center was better protected; cross-sectional area and perimeter of injured tissue were significantly smaller in the EFS group than in the SCI group. Immunofluorescence and transmission electron microscopy showed that the number of spinal cord anterior horn motoneurons was greater and the number of abnormal neurons reduced in the EFS group compared with the SCI group. Wet weight and cross-sectional area of vastus lateralis muscles were smaller in the SCI group to in the sham group. However, EFS improved muscle atrophy and behavioral examination showed that EFS significantly increased the angle in the inclined plane test and Tarlov's motor grading score. The above results confirm that early EFS can effectively impede spinal cord anterior horn motoneuron loss, promote motor function recovery and reduce muscle atrophy in rats after SCI.
我们之前的研究表明，在脊髓损伤（SCI）后，将阳极置于损伤部位、阴极置于损伤部位远端进行早期电场刺激（EFS），可降低损伤电位，抑制继发性损伤，并对背侧皮质脊髓束具有神经保护作用。本研究的目的是进一步评估EFS对SCI后前角运动神经元及其靶肌肉组织的保护作用及其机制。将大鼠随机分为三组，每组数量相等。EFS组在T损伤后立即接受30分钟的EFS刺激；SCI组大鼠仅接受SCI，假手术组大鼠仅接受椎板切除术。Luxol固蓝染色显示，损伤中心的脊髓组织得到了更好的保护；EFS组损伤组织的横截面积和周长明显小于SCI组。免疫荧光和透射电子显微镜显示，与SCI组相比，EFS组脊髓前角运动神经元数量更多，异常神经元数量减少。SCI组股外侧肌的湿重和横截面积小于假手术组。然而，EFS改善了肌肉萎缩，行为学检查显示，EFS显著增加了斜板试验中的角度和Tarlov运动分级评分。上述结果证实，早期EFS可有效阻止SCI大鼠脊髓前角运动神经元丢失，促进运动功能恢复并减轻肌肉萎缩。
