Protective effects of preconditioned local somatothermal stimulation on neuromuscular plasticity against ischemia–reperfusion injury in rats

✍ Scribed by Po-Jung Pan; Rai-Chi Chan; An-Hang Yang; Chen-Liang Chou; Ya-Fang Cheng; Jen-Hwey Chiu

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 153 KB
• Volume: 26
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0736-0266
• DOI: 10.1002/jor.20693

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate whether preconditioned local somatotheral stimulation (LSTS) protects the muscle and nerve against ischemia–reperfusion (I/R) injuries. Male rats were randomly assigned to normal, preconditioned LSTS only, and I/R‐injured groups with or without LSTS preconditioning. I/R injuries of the lower limb were induced by rubber band wrapping, followed by measurements of gait function and nerve conduction, muscle pathology, serum enzymatic activity, and the expression of heat‐shock protein 70 (HSP‐70) in the gastrocnemius muscles. No significant change of neuromuscular function was found between LSTS (−) and LSTS (+) groups on the first day after I/R injury. In contrast, gait stride length, compound motor action potential, and serum creatine phosphokinase MM isoenzyme were significantly improved on the eighth day after one or two doses of preconditioned LSTS and subsequent I/R injury. Western blot analysis disclosed no significant change of HSP‐70 expression in the muscle of I/R injured limbs between LSTS (−) and LSTS (+) groups. We conclude that preconditioned LSTS is a safe modality that improves the neuromuscular plasticity against I/R injured limbs, which provides a new strategy for I/R injury in clinical applications, such as intraoperative use of tourniquets. © 2008 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res