Experimental retrograde adriamycin trigeminal sensory ganglionectomy.
Direct destruction of the sensory ganglion or its root, by either surgical transection or injection of phenol, has been employed as preferred treatment for a variety of neuralgic pain syndromes. In this report, the suicide axoplasmic transport of adriamycin is described as a novel approach to sensory ganglionectomy. When injected into a branch of the trigeminal nerve in the cat, adriamycin was swiftly transported by way of retrograde axoplasmic flow to the sensory neurons parental to the injected nerve, where adriamycin-specific autofluorescence was observed. Trigeminal sensory evoked potentials became unobtainable 24 to 48 hours after injection of adriamycin in concentrations of 1% to 10%. The sensory neurons underwent subacute degeneration within a week due to the delayed action of adriamycin, and consequently the primary afferents degenerated in a restricted projection field of the brain-stem trigeminal sensory nuclei. These results indicate that retrograde axoplasmic transport of adriamycin is a unique approach to noninvasive sensory ganglionectomy with strict, albeit simple, safe targeting of sensory neurons and little likelihood of regeneration.
Kato
S
S
Department of Neurological Sciences, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
Yamamoto
T
T
Iwasaki
Y
Y
Niizuma
H
H
Nakamura
T
T
Suzuki
J
J
D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002415:Cats; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory; D005260:Female; D005453:Fluorescence; D005724:Ganglia / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015171:Ganglionectomy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009410:Nerve Degeneration; D009431:Neural Conduction / Q000187:drug effects; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000187:drug effects*; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D010166:Palliative Care; D012677:Sensation / Q000502:physiology*; D014276:Trigeminal Nerve / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014279:Trigeminal Nucleus, Spinal / Q000473:pathology
D004317:Doxorubicin