The Effects of Aqueous Extracts of Aconiti ciliare tuber on Functional Recovery after Sciatic Crushed Nerve Injury in Rats

Peripheral nerve systems are often damaged by crush, compression, ischemia and various diseases. In the sciatic crushed nerve injury, the injured limb displays hyperalgesia, pain-related gait and swelling 1) . These features are abnormal responses to peripheral stimuli and they induce changes of secretion and neural transmission. In peripheral injury, inflammatory reaction by injury induces hyperalgesia 2) and peripheral changes induced by injury also activate various brain regions 3) . After unilateral sciatic nerve injury, rat’s gait shows characteristic changes, such as functional loss of extensors or flexors of the foot. This deficit causes the foot to drop to the ground and thus the footprints are altered. Gradual disappearance of these changes reflects nerve regeneration and functional recovery. In this way, footprints can be used to assess sciatic nerve function 4) . De Medinaceli etal. suggested the sciatic function index (SFI) first as standard method for measuring the rate of functional The Effects of Aqueous Extracts of Aconiti ciliare tuber on Functional Recovery after Sciatic Crushed Nerve Injury in Rats