Journal Article

Dexamethasone prevents vascular damage in earlystage non-freezing cold injury of the sciatic nerve

Hao Li Lei Zhang Min Xu

2016

Overview

Non-freezing cold injury is a prevalent cause of peripheral nerve damage, but its pathogenic mechanism is poorly understood, and treatment remains inadequate. Glucocorticoids have anti-inflammatory and lipid peroxidation-inhibiting properties. We therefore examined whether dexamethasone, a synthetic glucocorticoid compound, would alleviate early-stage non-freezing cold injury of the sciatic nerve. We established Wistar rat models of non-freezing cold injury by exposing the left sciatic nerve to cold（3–5°C） for 2 hours, then administered dexamethasone（3 mg/kg intraperitoneally） to half of the models. One day after injury, the concentration of Evans blue tracer in the injured sciatic nerve of rats that received dexamethasone was notably lower than that in the injured sciatic nerve of rats that did not receive dexamethasone; neither Evans blue dye nor capillary stenosis was observed in the endoneurium, but myelinated nerve fibers were markedly degenerated in the injured sciatic nerve of animals that received dexamethasone. After dexamethasone administration, however, endoneurial vasculopathy was markedly improved, although damage to the myelinated nerve fiber was not alleviated. These findings suggest that dexamethasone protects the blood-nerve barrier, but its benefit in non-freezing cold injury is limited to the vascular system.

• Subject: 冻结 / 周围神经损伤 / 地塞米松 / 坐骨神经 / 早期 / 糖皮质激素 / 脂质过氧化作用 / 血管损伤