The effects of ciliary neurotrophic factor on rat sciatic nerve regeneration

AIM: To observe the effects of ciliary neurotrophic factor ( CNTF) on rat sciatic nerve regeneration,and compare the similarities and differences of its effects with that of nerve growth factor ( NGF) . METHODS: Sciatic nerve impairment model was prepared by break-restoring rat sciatic nerve. After intramuscular injection of different doses of CNTF at the damaged nerve for 45 days,the latent period and conduction velocity of action potential were determined. RESULTS: Compared with model group,the latent periods of all the CNTF treatment groups were significantly shortened ( P 0. 01) and the conduction velocity became faster significantly ( P 0. 01) . Additionally,the effect on latent period in middle and high CNTF dosage groups is not significantly different form that in NGF treatment group ( P 0. 05) . However,the conduction velocity in CNTF high dosage group is significantly faster than that in NGF treatment group ( P 0. 01) . CONCLUSION: The effect of CNTF on promoting the rat sciatic nerve regeneration is better than that of NGF.