[Protective effect of Vipera raddei venom damage of peripheral nerve]

In rats, single pulse activity of inter- and motoneurons of the spinal cord lumbar segment was studied in stimulation of cut. n. ischiadicus, extensor (n. gastrocnemius) and flexor (n. peroneus communis) after treatment with the Viper raddei venom for 4 weeks. In the control rats, no responses occurred in the n. ischiadicus distal stump, whereas the responses to contralateral nerve stimulation did occur. On the intact side, the responses occurred in opposite sequence. The absence of effects of the cut nerve distal stump stimulation in control rats resulted from the coalescence absence in the proximal stump which suggests atrophy of the distal stump. Morphological data prove a distal stump hypertrophy and restoration of the affected limb motor activity. The findings suggest a possibility of application of the Viper raddei venom for regeneration of injured peripheral nerve.