It has been hypothesized that there are two mechanisms of acute traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI): the primary mechanical damage and the secondary injury due to additional pathological processes initiated by the primary injury. Neurological damage due to laceration, contusion, distraction or compression of the spinal cord is called ”primary injury”. This mechanical injury leads...Read More
Spinal cord injury (SCI) remains a devastating condition with poor prognosis and very limited treatment options. Affected patients are severely restricted in their daily activities. Shock wave therapy (SWT) has shown potent regenerativeproperties in bone fractures, wounds, and ischemic myocardium via activation of the innate immune receptor TLR3. Here, we report on the efficacy of...Read More
Low-energy extracorporeal shock wave treatment (ESWT) is a relatively new therapeutic tool that is widely used for the treatment of epicondylitis and plantar fasciitis and tofoster bone and wound healing. Shock waves, sonic pulses with high energy impact,are thought to induce biochemical changes within the targeted tissues through mechanotransduction. The biological effects of ESWT are...Read More
A systematic review and meta-analysis of preclinical studies – Limited regeneration after nerve injury often leads to delayed or incomplete reinnervation and consequently insufficient muscle function. Following nerve surgery, application of low-intensity ultrasound or extracorporeal shock waves may promote nerve regeneration and improve functional outcomes. Because currently clinical data is unavailable, we performed a meta-analysis following...Read More
We tested the hypothesis that extracorporeal shock wave (ECSW) therapy can effectivelyprotect sciatic nerve (SN) from diabetes mellitus (DM)-induced neuropathy in leptin-deficient (ob/ob) mice. Methodsand results: Eighteen-week C57BL/6 mice (n=8) served as age-matched controls (group 1) and ob/ob mice (n=16)were categorized into DM (group 2) and DM + ECSW (0.12 mJ/mm2for 4 times of 200...Read More
Background-—Paraplegia following spinal cord ischemia represents a devastating complication of both aortic surgery and endovascular aortic repair. Shock wave treatment was shown to induce angiogenesis and regeneration in ischemic tissue by modulation of early inflammatory response via Toll-like receptor (TLR) 3 signaling. In preclinical and clinical studies, shock wave treatment had a favorable effect on...Read More
The gold standard for peripheral nerve regeneration uses a sensory autograft to bridge a motor/sensory defect site. For motor nerves to regenerate, Schwann cells (SC) myelinate the newly grown axon. Sensory SCs have a reduced ability to produce myelin, partially explaining low success rates of autografts. This issue is masked in pre-clinical research by the...Read More
(Alexandra Aicher, MD; Christopher Heeschen, MD; Ken-ichiro Sasaki, MD; Carmen Urbich, PhD; Andreas M. Zeiher, MD; Stefanie Dimmeler, PhD) – Stem and progenitor cell therapy is a novel approach to improve neovascularization and function of ischemic tissue. Enhanced tissue expression of chemoattractant factors such as stromal cell–derived factor 1 and vascular endothelial growth factor is crucial...Read More
(Johannes Holfeld, Can Tepeköylü, Radoslaw Kozaryn, Anja Urbschat, Kai Zacharowski, Michael Grimm, and Patrick Paulus) – Shock wave therapy (SWT) reportedly improves ventricular function in ischemic heart failure. Angiogenesis and inflammation modulatory effects were described. However, the mechanism remains largely unknown. We hypothesized that SWT modulates inflammation via toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) through the release of...Read More
