[An experimental study on denervated muscle atrophy--effect of electrostimulation and comparison with immobilization...

The efficacy of causing muscle atrophy was compared among denervation, arthrodesis and tenotomy in rat anterior tibial muscle. Reduction of wet weight was most pronounced in denervated muscle and least in arthrodesed muscle. Histochemical investigation by ATPase stain revealed that atrophy of Type 1 and Type 2 fiber was more severe in denervated muscle group than in the other two groups. Type 2 fiber atrophy was dominant in denervated muscle and in arthrodesed muscle. Type 1 fiber atrophy was dominant in tenotomized muscle. The effect of electrostimulation on denervated muscle was investigated. Electrostimulation significantly reduced the degree of denervation atrophy. Four weeks after severance of peroneal nerve, tibial nerve-crossing was done and electrostimulation was continued for eight weeks. Recovery of wet weight of re-innervated muscle with electrostimulation was significantly better than that without electrostimulation. Electrostimulation applied to denervated muscle reduced the progress of atrophy and improved the recovery after nerve repair.