Article

Electrical stimulation (ES) profoundly affects angiogenesis by modulating the
production of angiogenic factors. We evaluated the effect of sensory (direct
current, 600 microamperes) and motor (monophasic pulse current, 2.5 to 3
milliamperes, 300-microsecond pulse duration, 100 Hz) intensities of cathodal
current on the release of fibroblastic growth factor-2 (FGF-2) at the wound site
and also the biomechanical and histological properties of healed skin. Ninety-six
male, Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned into one control and two
experimental groups. A full-thickness skin incision was made on the dorsal region
of each animal. The experimental groups received 10 sessions of ES (sensory or
motor) for 1 hour per day every other day. The results showed that FGF-2 levels
in the sensory group were significantly greater than in the other groups on the
third day. In the motor group, FGF-2 levels were significantly decreased compared
with the control group. There were no significant differences between the
normalized ultimate strength and stiffness in the groups, but they tended to be
higher in the motor ES group. We conclude that the application of sensory ES
during the early stage of wound healing may have a beneficial effect on wound
healing by inducing the release of angiogenic factors and decreasing the duration
of the inflammation phase.

Langue : ANGLAIS