【Animal Experiment】-Effect of Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation on End-to-side Anastomosis of Peripheral Nerve in Rats

  Objective: To observe and study the effect of percutaneous electrical stimulation on nerve regeneration after nerve terminal anastomosis and its clinical value.

  Method: 32 male SD rats were selected and randomly divided into normal control group (group A), and the posterior end of the musculocutaneous nerve injury was anastomosed to the ulnar nerve group (group B). Ulnar nerve anastomosis group (group C), ulnar nerve + postoperative percutaneous electrical stimulation group after anastomosed muscle nerve injury (group D). Observe the muscle strength recovery and nerve fiber regeneration of the limbs of rats in each group.

  Result: The amplitude and conduction velocity of rats in group C and D are lower than those of group A, and the latency is higher than that of group A, while the amplitude and conduction velocity of rats in group D are higher than those of group A. Lower, the incubation period is longer than that of group C; the wet weight ratio and cross-sectional area of muscle fibers of the biceps in groups B, C, and D are lower than those of group A, and group C has the worst muscle recovery. The expression of NF-200 in groups B, C and D was significantly lower than that in groups A and D. The expression of NF-200 in group was significantly stronger than that in group C, but it was significantly lower than that in group B, and the difference was statistically significant (P\u003c0.05). Electron microscope observation revealed that the myelin sheath of the nerve fibers in group B was mature, and the myelin sheath in group C was mainly unmyelinated nerve fibers. The myelin hyperplasia in group D is better than that in group C, but there are still some unmyelinated nerve fibers.

  Conclusion: After end-to-end nerve anastomosis, transcutaneous electrical stimulation can effectively promote the regeneration of nerve axons and delay the innervation of the target muscle. Although there is a gap compared with end-to-end anastomosis, it is one of the effective methods for clinical repair of peripheral nerve injury.