title: Effects of intrathecal administration of FK506 after sciatic nerve crush injury.
abstract: Although various administration routes of FK506 have been published, intrathecal administration of FK506 has not previously been reported in the literature. A daily dose of 0.05 mg/kg of FK506 was given (a small dose compared with those reported in the available literature). The authors used this small dose to obtain lower immunosuppression and neurotoxicity, and a higher axonal regeneration rate. A total number of 40 female Wistar rats were used and randomly divided into four groups: control, sham, FK506-treated, and vehicle-treated. Sciatic nerve regeneration was evaluated by walking track analysis, an electrostimulation test, and light microscopic evaluation. There was a statistically significant difference ( P < 0.05) between FK506-treated and vehicle-treated groups at the end of 6 weeks according to both the walking track analysis and the electrostimulation test. Comparing the stimulus thresholds of the sham and FK506-treated group, no significant difference ( P > 0.05) was observed. Evaluation of the data revealed that FK506 had a beneficial effect on sciatic nerve regeneration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine, Antalya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Levent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sarikcioglu
authors.forename: Erdeniz
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Duygulu
authors.forename: Hulya
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Aydin
authors.forename: Elif Inanc
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: Gurer
authors.forename: Olcay
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ozkan
authors.forename: Serdar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tuzuner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007278:Injections, Spinal; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012584:Sciatic Nerve / Q000187:drug effects / Q000293:injuries / Q000378:metabolism; D016559:Tacrolimus / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D016559:Tacrolimus