Autotomy and decreased spinal substance P following peripheral cryogenic nerve lesion

Cryotherapy has been clinically applied to relieve pain by blocking peripheral nerve function. Clinically, analgesia has been successfully achieved but there is suggestion that permanent pain relief may be accompanied by extended motor and sensory deficits. This study was undertaken to determine the effect of a peripheral cryogenic nerve lesion, i.e., of the sciatic nerve, on behavioral effects and substance P content in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. In rats, the right sciatic nerve was exposed and cryolesioned using one freeze-thaw-refreeze cycle. In an alternate group, the right sciatic nerve was cut and a 3-mm region was excised. Animals were allowed to recover 7 or 21 days during which their behavior was assessed. Autotomy, an animal's tendency to attack the nerve-injured affected limb, occurred in both the cryolesioned and sectioned groups. They were killed by transcardiac perfusion of fixative and segments L4-S1 were processed for immunocytochemistry. The SP-like immunoreactivity (SPLI) in the right and left dorsal horns was compared and quantitated using a microcomputer imaging device. We utilized a fully automated program to digitize and quantitate the staining of the substantia gelatinosa. There was no significant difference in SPLI in the dorsal horns of the sham-operated controls at either time period. At 7 days the sectioned group demonstrated a 40% decrease in SPLI and 76% decrease at 21 days. In the cryolesioned group, there was a 34% decrease at 7 days and by 21 days there was a 68% decrease in immunoreactivity on the operated side.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)