title: Effect of topical dexamethasone in reducing dysfunction after facial nerve crush injury in the rat.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To date, the effect of topical steroid after a crush injury to rat facial nerve has rarely been reported on. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of topical dexamethasone on recovery after a crush injury to the rat facial nerve, by functional, electrophysiological, and morphological evaluation.
  
  
  METHODS
  We investigated the effects of topical dexamethasone on recovery after a crush injury to rat facial nerve by functional, electrophysiological and morphological evaluation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The functional recovery using vibrissae movement was significantly high scores in the experimental group than control group at two and three weeks post-crush. The recovery of the threshold of muscle action potential was significantly lowered in the experimental group compared to the control (p<0.05). However, there was no statistical significance in the nerve conduction velocity. The dexamethasone treatment groups showed a larger axon diameter and thicker myelin sheath than the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  From our results, topical dexamethasone accelerates recovery of the crush-injured facial nerve.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, South Korea. Electronic address: chulsavio@hanmail.net.
authors.forename: Chul Ho
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, South Korea.
authors.forename: Yong Beom
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Bio New Drug Development, Chosun University, Gwangju, South Korea.
authors.forename: Cheol Hee
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Bio New Drug Development, Chosun University, Gwangju, South Korea.
authors.forename: Yoon Seok
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Enginnering, and Center for Marine-Integrated Biomedical Technology (BK21 Plus), Pukyong National University, Pusan, South Korea.
authors.forename: Won-Kyo
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Jung
mesh_terms: D000287:Administration, Topical; D000818:Animals; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000150:complications*; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D005154:Facial Nerve / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D020220:Facial Nerve Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D009409:Nerve Crush; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020127:Recovery of Function
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids; D003907:Dexamethasone
keywords: Dexamethasone; Facial nerve crush; Topical