The Effect of Continuous Epidural Electrical Stimulation on Neuronal Proliferation in Cerebral Ischemic Rats

Abstract

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of electrical stimulation (ES) on the recovery of motor skill and neuronal cell proliferation.MethodsThe male Sprague-Dawley rats were implanted with an epidural electrode over the peri-ischemic area after photothrombotic stroke in the dominant sensorimotor cortex. All rats were randomly assigned into the ES group and control group. The behavioral test of a single pellet reaching task (SPRT) and neurological examinations including the Schabitz's photothrombotic neurological score and the Menzies test were conducted for 2 weeks. After 14 days, coronal sections were obtained and immunostained for neuronal cell differentiation markers including bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), neuron-specific nuclear protein (NeuN), and doublecortin (DCX).ResultsOn the SPRT, the motor function in paralytic forelimbs of the ES group was significantly improved. There were no significant differences in neurological examinations and neuronal cell differentiation markers except for the significantly increased number of DCX+ cells in the corpus callosum of the ES group (p<0.05). But in the ES group, the number of NeuN+ cells in the ischemic cortex and the number of NeuN+ cells and DCX+ cells in the ischemic striatum tended to increase. In the ES group, NeuN+ cells in the ischemic hemisphere and DCX+ cells and BrdU+ cells in the opposite hemisphere tended to increase compared to those in the contralateral.ConclusionThe continuous epidural ES of the ischemic sensorimotor cortex induced a significant improvement in the motor function and tended to increase neural cell proliferation in the ischemic hemisphere and the neural regeneration in the opposite hemisphere.

Combined effect of pulsed electromagnetic field and sound wave on In vitro and In vivo neural differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells

“…This tendency towards recovery and neural differentiation was consistent with those observed in previous in vivo studies involving electrical stimulation, but recovery and especially differentiation after exposure to the combined wave has not yet been reported. Furthermore, even though these stimuli were effective in improving neural differentiation, no significant differences could be observed among the different wave‐exposed groups.…”

The Effect of Electric Cortical Stimulation after Focal Traumatic Brain Injury in Rats

“…Among the selected, the coronal plane of 4 mm anterior and posterior to the center of the lesion, the 40 µm sections, which was present on +1.80 mm, were used for lesion exploration 17. All tissue samples were immersed in distilled water for 30 minutes and were incubated with 0.3% hydrogen peroxide solution (H 2 O 2 ) in order to block the activity of endogenous peroxide.…”

Electrical Stimulation Enhances Migratory Ability of Transplanted Bone Marrow Stromal Cells in a Rodent Ischemic Stroke Model

“…Epidural stimulation of the motor cortex enhanced neurogenesis in the subventricular zone (SVZ) and migration of endogenous cell to the stimulated cortex. Some of migrated cells have expressed the neural phenotype [16, 17]. Similarly, in the transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), cathodal stimulation induces the recruitment of proliferating neural stem cells [32].…”

“…There are some reports that electric fields may direct various types of cells in vitro [13-15]. Furthermore, electrical stimulation enhances migration of endogenous neural stem cells and cell proliferation in vivo [16, 17]. However, to date no in vivo studies exist investigating the ability of electric current to guide the transplanted cells within the ischemic brain.…”