Study of Wide Pulse Wave Electroacupuncture at Zusanli (ST36) for Preventing and Treating Lower Limb Muscle Atrophy / 上海针灸杂志

Objective To sift and optimize pulse width for electroacupuncture prevention and treatment of muscular atrophy. Method A model of lower limb muscle atrophy was made in 40 rats. They were randomized into groupsⅠ (no electroacupuncture),Ⅱ (a pulse width of 0.5 ms and a frequency of 2 Hz), Ⅲ (a pulse width of 100 ms and a frequency of 2 Hz) and Ⅳ (a pulse width of 200 ms and a frequency of 2 Hz). Points Zusanli (ST36) and Chengshan(BL57) were given electroacupuncture. Sciatic function index (SFI), gastrocnemius muscle wet weight ratio (GW), the cross-sectional area of gastrocnemius muscle fibers (GC), gastrocnemius muscle cell diameter (GD) and gastrocnemius muscle cell apoptosis index (AI) were used as indicators of therapeutic effect. Result Compared with group Ⅰ, SFI and GW increased significantly in groups Ⅲ and Ⅳ (P<0.05). Compared with groupsⅠ and Ⅱ, AI on the affected side decreased significantly in groups Ⅲ and Ⅳ (P<0.05). Conclusion The therapeutic effect of electroacupuncture is related to its pulse width. The pulse widths of 100 ms and 200 ms are significantly more effective than a pulse width of 0.5 ms from a conventional electroacupuncture device in preventing and treating muscular atrophy.

Effects of 660nm red light on crush-induced sciatic nerve injury / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

Objective To explore the therapeutic effects of 660 nm red light on sciatic nerve injury in adult rats.Methods Forty-five adult,male rats were divided into a control group and treatment groups 1,2,3 and 4.Sciatic nerve injury was modeled by crushing the nerve.The treatment groups received irradiation with red light once daily for 21 consecutive days.The power density of red light and irradiation time varied among the groups.The latency and amplitude of compound muscle action potentials (CMAPs) and nerve conductive velocity were examined at different time points.The Sciatic Function Index (SFI) was used to evaluate walking function.Results After 21 days of red light therapy no statistically significant differences were observed between the control group and treatment groups 1 to 4 with regard to the latency or the amplitude of the CMAPs.There was a significant difference between the control group and treatment group 3 in terms of sciatic nerve conduction velocity.The average Sciatic Function Indexes of treatment groups 2,3 were significantly different from that of the control group.Conclusion Red light irradiation can promote recovery after sciatic nerve injury,at least in rats,thereby improving walking function.

Effects of Herbal Bath "HAC" on Functional Recovery and c-Fos Expression in the Ventrolateral Periaqueductal Gray Region after Sciatic Crushed Nerve Injury in Rats

Peripheral nerve injuries are a commonly encountered clinical problem and often result in a chronic pain and severe functional deficits. c-Fos expression is sometimes used as a marker of increased neuronal activity. We have developed herbal bath "HAC" for pain control using the following herbs: Harpagophytum procumbens, Atractylodes japonica, and Corydalis tuber. In the present study, we investigated the effects of herbal bath "HAC" on the recovery rate of the locomotor function and the expression of c-Fos in the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) region of brain following sciatic crushed nerve injury in rats. Walking track analysis for the evaluation of functional recovery and immunohistochemistry for the c-Fos expression were used for this study. In the present results, characteristic gait change with dropping of the sciatic function index (SFI) was observed and c-Fos expression in the vlPAG was suppressed following sciatic crushed nerve injury in rats. Immersion into herbal bath "HAC" enhanced SFI value and restored c-Fos expression in the vlPAG to the control value. These results suggest that herbal bath "HAC" might activate neurons in the vlPAG, and it facilitates functional recovery from peripheral nerve injury. Here we showed that herbal bath "HAC" could be used as a new therapeutic intervention for pain control and functional recovery from peripheral nerve injury.

Experimental study of peripheral nerve regeneration by using non-tubular natural cellulose membrane nerve conduit

Styela clava, called non-native tunicate or sea squirt, is habitat which include bays and harbors in Korea and several sites in the sea faced world. We fabricate cellulose membrane nerve conduit (CMNC) from this native sea squirt skin, and evaluate the capacity of promoting peripheral nerve regeneration in the rat sciatic nerve defect model. After processing the pure cellulose membrane from the sea squirt skin as we already published before, CMNC was designed as a non-tubular sheet with 14 mm length and 4 mm width. Total eleven male Spraque-Dawley rats (12 weeks, weighing 250 to 300g) were divided into sham group (n=2), silicone tube grafted control group (n=3) and experimental group (n=6). Each CMNC grafted nerve was evaluated after 4, 8 and 12 weeks in the experimental group, and after 12 weeks, sciatic function was evaluated with sciatic function index (SFI) and gait analysis, and histomorphology of nerve conduit and the innervated tissues of sciatic nerve were all examined using image analyzer and electromicroscopic methods in the all groups. The regenerated axon and nerve sheath were found only in the inner surface of the CMNC after 4 weeks and became more thicker after 8 and 12 weeks. In the TEM study, CMNC grafted group showed more abundant organized myelinated nerve fibers with thickened extracellular matrix than silicone conduit grafted group after 12 weeks. The sciatic function index (SFI) and ankle stance angle (ASA) in the functional evaluation were -47.2+/-3.9, 35.5.+/-4.9.in CMNC grafted group (n=2) and -80.4+/-7.4, 29.2.+/-5.3.in silicone conduit grafted group (n=3), respectively. And the myelinated axon was 41.59% in CMNC group and 9.51% in silicone conduit group to the sham group. The development of a bioactive CMNC to replace autogenous nerve grafts offers a potential and available approach to improved peripheral nerve regeneration. As we already published before, small peptide fragment derived from the basement membrane matrix proteins of squirt skin, which is a kind of anchoring protein composed of glycocalyx, induced the effective axonal regeneration with rapid growth of Schwann cells beneath the inner surface of CMNC. So the possibilities of clinical application as a peripheral nerve regeneration will be able to be suggested.