title: Pulsed electrical stimulation protects neurons in the dorsal root and anterior horn of the spinal cord after peripheral nerve injury.
abstract: Most studies on peripheral nerve injury have focused on repair at the site of injury, but very few have examined the effects of repair strategies on the more proximal neuronal cell bodies. In this study, an approximately 10-mm-long nerve segment from the ischial tuberosity in the rat was transected and its proximal and distal ends were inverted and sutured. The spinal cord was subjected to pulsed electrical stimulation at T10 and L3, at a current of 6.5 mA and a stimulation frequency of 15 Hz, 15 minutes per session, twice a day for 56 days. After pulsed electrical stimulation, the number of neurons in the dorsal root ganglion and anterior horn was increased in rats with sciatic nerve injury. The number of myelinated nerve fibers was increased in the sciatic nerve. The ultrastructure of neurons in the dorsal root ganglion and spinal cord was noticeably improved. Conduction velocity of the sciatic nerve was also increased. These results show that pulsed electrical stimulation protects sensory neurons in the dorsal root ganglia as well as motor neurons in the anterior horn of the spinal cord after peripheral nerve injury, and that it promotes the regeneration of peripheral nerve fibers.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Traumatology, Linyi People's Hospital, Linyi, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Bao-An
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Pei
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Traumatology, Linyi People's Hospital, Linyi, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Jin-Hua
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Zi
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Traumatology, Linyi People's Hospital, Linyi, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Li-Sheng
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3930-5405
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Traumatology, Linyi People's Hospital, Linyi, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Cun-Hua
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong Province, China.
authors.forename: Yun-Zhen
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7477-9745
authors.initials: YZ
authors.lastname: Chen
keywords: dorsal root ganglion; nerve conduction; nerve regeneration; neural regeneration; neurons; peripheral nerve; pulsed electrical stimulation; spinal cord