title: Effect of ginkgo biloba extract on recovery after facial nerve crush injury in the rat.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Many pharmacological agents have shown successful results in experimental crush injury of the peripheral nerve. To date, therapeutic effect of ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) on the peripheral nerve crush injury of rats has been rarely reported, moreover, neuroprotective effect on the facial nerve crush injury has not been reported.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective functional recovery, using a vibrissae movement and electrophysiological analysis of recovery 4 weeks after the facial nerve crush in adult rats, and comparison with randomized intraperitoneal injection of either GBE or control phosphate buffered saline.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Relative to the control group (26 days post operation), administration of GBE significantly accelerated the recovery of vibrissae orientation to 11.7 days post the operation. A significant functional recovery was observed by postoperative 2nd week in the experimental group. The recovery of threshold and conduction velocity, postoperative 4th week in the experimental group, showed statistically significant difference compared to that of the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  From this result, intraperitoneal injection of GBE has been found effective in promoting the regeneration of the nerve in an experimental facial nerve crush rat model. Further studies, including morphological and molecular analyses, are necessary to clarify the mechanisms of GBE on the facial nerve crush.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, South Korea. chulsavio@hanmail.net
authors.forename: Chul Ho
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Yong Beom
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Cheol Hee
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003444:Crush Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005154:Facial Nerve / Q000187:drug effects; D020220:Facial Nerve Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D020441:Ginkgo biloba; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000187:drug effects; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D028321:Plant Preparations / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020127:Recovery of Function
chemical_list: D028321:Plant Preparations