Electric stimulation of a transsected nerve does not seem to prevent loss of sensory neurons: an experimental study in cats.

ABSTRACT

Injury to a sensory nerve often results in a clinically poor long term outcome, possibly as a result of the extensive loss of neurons within the dorsal root ganglia (DRG), which has been shown in several experimental studies. This loss is possibly caused by interruption of the sensory input and axonal transport in the damaged afferent nerve. To investigate the importance of sensory afferent input into a nerve a pulsed electric stimulation was applied on the proximal part of the superficial radial nerve after transsection and microsurgical repair. The purpose was to simulate nerve impulses and thereby mask the severity of the injury. To test this hypothesis a pilot study was undertaken in eight cats. The neuronal tracer showed that the median neuronal loss was 38% of the neurons of the dorsal root ganglia that received afferents from the nerve investigated, which corresponds to the figure in a previous study in which electric stimulation was not used. Artificial sensory stimulation during regeneration in a transsected and repaired peripheral nerve therefore does not seem to reduce neuronal loss.