Functional electrical stimulation helps replenish progenitor cells in the injured spinal cord of adult rats

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) can restore control and offset atrophy to muscles after neurological injury However. FES has not been considered as a method for enhancing CNS regeneration. This paper demonstrates that FES dramatically enhanced progenitor cell birth in the spinal cord of rats with a chronic spinal cord Injury (SCI) A complete SCI at thoracic level 8/9 was performed oil 12 rats Three weeks later, a FES device to stimulate hindlirrib movement was implanted into these rats Twelve identically-injured rats received inactive FES implants An additional control group of uninjured rats were also examined Ten days after FES implantation, dividing cells were mat ked with biomodeoxyuridine (BrdU). The "cell birth" subgroup (half the animals in each group) was sacrificed immediately after completion of BrdU administration, and the "cell survival" Subgroup was sacrificed 7 days later In the injured "cell birth" Subgroup, FES induced an 82-86% increase in cell birth in the lumbar spinal cord In the injured "cell survival" sub.-roup, the increased lumbar newborn cell Counts persisted FES doubled the proportion of the newly-born cells which expressed nestin and other markers suggestive of tripotential progenitors In uninjured rats, FES had no effect on cell birth/survival This report suggests that controlled electrical activation of the CNS may enhance spontaneous regeneration after neurological injuries (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc All rights reserved.