The method of isolating filaments of the dorsal cutaneous branches was used to observe the effects of antidromic electrical stimulation of the spinal nerves on the discharge of remote A delta and C mechanoreceptive units in rats. Seventy-nine mechanoreceptive units were recorded from the T12 nerve filaments after stimulation of the dorsal cutaneous branches of T9 spinal nerve. It was found that the discharge frequency of 59.3% (16/27) A delta-units and 71.2% (37/52) C-units significantly increased during 90-120 s after the stimulation. Sixty-four mechanoreceptive units were recorded from the T12 nerve filaments after stimulation of the dorsal cutaneous branches of T8 spinal nerves. The discharge frequency of 47.8% (11/23) A delta-units and 36.6% (15/41) C-units significantly increased during 120-150 s after the stimulation. In addition, the threshold of the majority of these mechanoreceptors (78.3%, 18/23) decreased after the stimulation. The results suggest that antidromic electrical stimulation of the dorsal cutaneous branches of spinal nerves leads to sensitization of A delta and C mechanoreceptive units of the remote peripheral nerve endings, which results in an increase in afferent discharge of these units.
Animals ; Electric Stimulation ; Electrophysiology ; Female ; In Vitro Techniques ; Male ; Mechanoreceptors ; physiology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spinal Nerves ; anatomy & histology ; physiology

Occipital neuralgia is defined by the International Headache Society as paroxysmal shooting or stabbing pain in the dermatomes of the greater or lesser occipital nerve. Various treatment methods exist, from medical treatment to open surgical procedures. Local injection with corticosteroid can improve symptoms, though generally only temporarily. More invasive procedures can be considered for cases that do not respond adequately to medical therapies or repeated injections. Radiofrequency lesioning of the greater occipital nerve can relieve symptoms, but there is a tendency for the pain to recur during follow-up. There also remains a substantial group of intractable patients that do not benefit from local injections and conventional procedures. Moreover, treatment of occipital neuralgia is sometimes challenging. More invasive procedures, such as C2 gangliotomy, C2 ganglionectomy, C2 to C3 rhizotomy, C2 to C3 root decompression, neurectomy, and neurolysis with or without sectioning of the inferior oblique muscle, are now rarely performed for medically refractory patients. Recently, a few reports have described positive results following peripheral nerve stimulation of the greater or lesser occipital nerve. Although this procedure is less invasive, the significance of the results is hampered by the small sample size and the lack of long-term data. Clinicians should always remember that destructive procedures carry grave risks: once an anatomic structure is destroyed, it cannot be easily recovered, if at all, and with any destructive procedure there is always the risk of the development of painful neuroma or causalgia, conditions that may be even harder to control than the original complaint.
Anesthetics/therapeutic use ; Botulinum Toxins/therapeutic use ; Electric Stimulation ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Nerve Block ; Neuralgia/*diagnosis/surgery/therapy ; Spinal Nerves/anatomy & histology/*physiopathology ; Steroids/pharmacology

The genital organ is innervated by autonomic and somatic nerve. The former is both sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve and the later is comprised by sensory and motor fibers. The symptoms of male sexual dysfunction are sexopathy, erectile dysfunction, disorder of ejaculation and orgasm, and pianism. Not only different symptom but the same symptom can be induced by different injured nerve. The relationship between peripheral nerve injury and male sexual dysfunction should be understood correctly.
Erectile Dysfunction/etiology* ; Humans ; Male ; Parasympathetic Nervous System/injuries* ; Pelvis/innervation* ; Peripheral Nerve Injuries ; Peripheral Nerves/anatomy & histology* ; Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological/etiology* ; Spinal Cord Injuries/complications* ; Sympathetic Nervous System/injuries* ; Trauma, Nervous System/complications*