1666 ELECTRICAL STIMULATION OF THE PUDENDAL NERVE INCREASES THE EXPRESSION OF NEUROTROPHINS IN ONUF'S NUCLEUS FOLLOWING SIMULATED CHILDBIRTH INJURY

Abstract

You have accessJournal of UrologyUrodynamics/Incontinence/Female Urology: Female Urology II1 Apr 20101666 ELECTRICAL STIMULATION OF THE PUDENDAL NERVE INCREASES THE EXPRESSION OF NEUROTROPHINS IN ONUF'S NUCLEUS FOLLOWING SIMULATED CHILDBIRTH INJURY Hai-Hong Jiang, Bradley Gill, Levilester Salcedo, Paul Zaszczurynski, Brian Balog, Dan Li Lin, and Margot Damaser Hai-Hong JiangHai-Hong Jiang More articles by this author , Bradley GillBradley Gill More articles by this author , Levilester SalcedoLevilester Salcedo More articles by this author , Paul ZaszczurynskiPaul Zaszczurynski More articles by this author , Brian BalogBrian Balog More articles by this author , Dan Li LinDan Li Lin More articles by this author , and Margot DamaserMargot Damaser More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2010.02.1490AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES A combinatorial injury occurs during childbirth, involving the urethra and pudendal nerve, which can result in stress urinary incontinence (SUI). We have previously demonstrated that dual simulated childbirth injury, consisting of pudendal nerve crush (PNC) and vaginal distension (VD), results in slowed recovery of both continence function & pudendal nerve function, as well as decreased expression of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Electrical stimulation has been shown to upregulate BDNF in motor neurons after injury. In this study, we electrically stimulated the pudendal nerve proximal to the crush site to determine if this upregulates BDNF in Onuf's nucleus as a potential treatment to facilitate nerve recovery after childbirth. METHODS Sprague-Dawley female rats were assigned to 3 groups; dual injury (n=5), sham injury (n=5), and intact control (n=5), respectively. Rats in the dual injury group received 4 hours of VD immediately followed by bilateral PNC. Rats in the sham injury group underwent sham procedures. All rats received 1 hour of electrical stimulation (20 Hz, 0.3mA, 0.1 ms duration) of the left pudendal nerve and sham stimulation of the right pudendal nerve immediately after dual or sham injury. The lumbosacral spinal cord was harvested 2 days after stimulation and was flash frozen, sectioned at L6/S1, and laser dissected to isolate Onuf's nucleus (dorsolateral motoneurons in rats). BDNF mRNA expression in Onuf's nucleus was determined by real-time RT-PCR and was normalized to expression of S-18. RESULTS Two days after dual injury, BNDF expression in Onuf's nucleus was significantly decreased in both stimulated and sham stimulated groups compared to that of intact or sham injury. BNDF expression was significantly increased on the stimulated (left) side compared to the sham stimulated (right) side 2 days after dual injury, indicating that electrical stimulation upregulates BDNF expression in Onuf's nucleus. CONCLUSIONS BDNF expression becomes deficient in Onuf's nucleus after a dual childbirth simulation injury. Electrical stimulation of the pudendal nerve proximal to the crush immediately after dual injury upregulated BDNF expression in Onuf's nucleus, suggesting that it will improve recovery after injury. Future work will be aimed at optimizing and developing electrical stimulation to facilitate recovery of the pudendal nerve after childbirth as a preventative paradigm for SUI. Cleveland, OH© 2010 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 183Issue 4SApril 2010Page: e643-e644 Peer Review Report Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2010 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Hai-Hong Jiang More articles by this author Bradley Gill More articles by this author Levilester Salcedo More articles by this author Paul Zaszczurynski More articles by this author Brian Balog More articles by this author Dan Li Lin More articles by this author Margot Damaser More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement Advertisement PDF downloadLoading ...