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Updated: Mar 12, 2026
Disruption of the Blood-Spinal Cord Barrier Using Low-Intensity Focused Ultrasound in a Rat Model
Published on: March 10, 2023
The Effect of Low-Intensity Ultrasound on Brain-Derived Neurotropic Factor Expression in a Rat Sciatic Nerve Crushed
Xue-Jun Ni1, Xiao-Dong Wang2, Ya-Hong Zhao3
1Department of Ultrasound, Shanghai Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Abstract:
Low-intensity ultrasound (LIU) can improve nerve regeneration and functional recovery after peripheral nerve crush injury, but the underlying mechanism is not clear. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of LIU on rat sciatic crush injury and to investigate a possible molecular mechanism. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent left sciatic nerve crush surgery and were then randomized into two groups: a treatment group that received LIU every other d, and a control group that received sham exposure. Compared with rats in the control group, rats in the treatment group had higher sciatic nerve function indexes, compound muscle action potentials, wet weight ratios of the target muscle and mRNA expression of brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) in the crushed nerve and ipsilateral dorsal root ganglia. Our findings suggest that LIU might promote injured nerve regeneration by stimulating BDNF release.
