Clinical and Histopathologic Study of the Use of Gangliosides for Nerve Regeneration in Rats After Axonotmesis

Neto, Joaquim Celestino S.; Vasconcelos, Belmiro C.E.; Sobral, Ana Paula V.; da Silva, Valdemiro Amaro; Nogueira, Ricardo Viana Bessa

doi:10.1016/j.joms.2006.06.298

« Previous Next »Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Volume 65, Issue 5 , Pages 870-874, May 2007

Clinical and Histopathologic Study of the Use of Gangliosides for Nerve Regeneration in Rats After Axonotmesis

Joaquim Celestino S. Neto, DDS, MSc
- PhD Candidate, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.
Belmiro C.E. Vasconcelos, DDS, PhD
- Senior Lecturer in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Director, Postgraduate Programs in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr Vasconcelos: Faculdade de Odontologia de Pernambuco, Departamento de Cirurgia e Traumatologia BMF, Av General Newton Cavalcanti, 1650 Camaragibe–PE, 54753-220 Brazil
Ana Paula V. Sobral, DDS, PhD
- Senior Lecturer in Oral Pathology, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.
Valdemiro Amaro da Silva Jr, DDS, PhD
- Senior Lecturer in Morphology, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.
Ricardo Viana Bessa Nogueira, DDS, MSc
- PhD Candidate, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.

Purpose

This study involved a clinical and histopathologic evaluation of the use of gangliosides in nerve regeneration, using an experimental model with higher vertebrates.

Materials and Methods

Forty Sprague Dawley rats had their right sciatic nerve crushed for 1 minute in a hemostatic tweezer. The animals were divided into experimental and control groups. The animals in the experimental group received an intramuscular injection of gangliosides in the left thigh for 25 days, whereas those in the control group received infiltrations of distilled water. A clinical evaluation of gait was made 24 hours and then 45 days after the surgical intervention, and a histopathologic evaluation of the sciatic nerves was performed after 45 days.

Results

There were no signs that the use of gangliosides significantly altered the animals’ gait after 45 days. The animals in the experimental group had a greater frequency and intensity of inflammatory response than seen in the control group.