Effects of low dose trapidil on electrical properties of a rat peripheral nerve after crush injury.

Background: Trapidil has been shown to possess the protective effects in the treatment of ischemia and reperfusion injury in the peripheral nervous system. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of low dose trapidil on peripheral nerve regeneration with electrophysiological method.

Methods: The sciatic nerve was compressed for 20 sec by using a jeweler's forceps. Trapidil treatment groups were administrated a single dose of trapidil (8 mg/kg) intraperitoneally just after the injury. Electrophysiological recordings were performed in crush and crush + trapidil treatment groups on the 2nd, 7th, 15th, 30th and 45th days following the nerve injury.

Results: EMG recordings on the second day following the crush injury showed low values of compound motor action potentials in the gastrocnemius muscle when compared to normal values obtained in intact animals; also, the values on the second day following the crush injury were significantly different between control and trapidil-treated groups. The action potential values for both groups did not yet reach baseline values at the end of the experiment. There was no difference in the action potential amplitude, area and distal latency values between rats with crush and crush+trapidil on all days.

Conclusion: We could not prove a neuroprotective effect of a single low dose of trapidil in rat crush injury model using electrophysiological method.