title: Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound accelerates nerve regeneration following inferior alveolar nerve transection in rats.
abstract: Inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) injury, which is frequently caused by orofacial surgery or trauma, induces sensory loss in orofacial regions innervated by the IAN. However, no effective treatment for orofacial sensory loss currently exists. We determined whether sensory loss in facial skin above the mental foramen following IAN transection was recovered by exposure of the transected IAN to low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS). Inferior alveolar nerve transection (IANX) was performed in 7-wk-old male Sprague-Dawley rats. On day 7 after IANX, the effect of daily LIPUS (from day 0) on the transected IAN, in terms of sensitivity to mechanical stimulation of the facial skin above the mental foramen, was examined. Moreover, the number of trigeminal ganglion (TG) neurons innervating the facial skin above the mental foramen of rats with IANX treated daily with LIPUS was counted using the retrograde neurotracing technique. Daily exposure of the transected IAN to LIPUS significantly promoted recovery of the head-withdrawal threshold in response to mechanical stimulation of the facial skin above the mental foramen, and the number of TG neurons innervating the facial skin above mental foramen was significantly increased in rats with IANX treated daily with LIPUS compared with sham or LIPUS-unexposed rats. Daily treatment of stumps of the transected IAN with LIPUS facilitated morphological and functional regeneration, suggesting that LIPUS is an effective and novel therapy for IAN injury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, Nihon University School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan.|Department of Physiology, Nihon University School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Mai
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, Nihon University School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Mitsuru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Motoyoshi
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Nihon University School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan.|Division of Functional Morphology, Dental Research Center, Nihon University School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Masamichi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shinoda
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Nihon University School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan.|Division of Functional Morphology, Dental Research Center, Nihon University School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan.|Division of Applied System Neuroscience Advanced Medical Research Center, Nihon University Graduate School of Medical Science, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iwata
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, Nihon University School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan.|Division of Clinical Research, Dental Research Center, Nihon University School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Noriyoshi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shimizu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D008297:Male; D008340:Mandibular Nerve; D009416:Nerve Regeneration; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012668:Trigeminal Ganglion / Q000293:injuries*; D061221:Trigeminal Nerve Injuries; D000069453:Ultrasonic Waves
keywords: inferior alveolar nerve injury; low-intensity ultrasound; peripheral nerve regeneration; sensory loss