Brief electrical stimulation accelerates axon regeneration in the peripheral ner

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Motor Control. 2009 Oct;13(4):412-41.

Brief electrical stimulation accelerates axon regeneration in the peripheral

nervous system and promotes sensory axon regeneration in the central nervous

system.

Gordon T, Udina E, Verge VM, de Chaves EI.

Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Alberta,

Edmonton, Alberta.

Injured peripheral but not central nerves regenerate their axons but functional

recovery is often poor. We demonstrate that prolonged periods of axon separation

from targets and Schwann cell denervation eliminate regenerative capacity in the

peripheral nervous system (PNS). A substantial delay of 4 weeks for all

regenerating axons to cross a site of repair of sectioned nerve contributes to

the long period of separation. Findings that 1h 20Hz bipolar electrical

stimulation accelerates axon outgrowth across the repair site and the downstream

reinnervation of denervated muscles in rats and human patients, provides a new

and exciting method to improve functional recovery after nerve injuries. Drugs

that elevate neuronal cAMP and activate PKA promote axon outgrowth in vivo and

in vitro, mimicking the electrical stimulation effect. Rapid expression of

neurotrophic factors and their receptors and then of growth associated proteins

thereafter via cAMP, is the likely mechanism by which electrical stimulation

accelerates axon outgrowth from the site of injury in both peripheral and

central nervous systems.