Botulinum Neurotoxin Application to the Severed Femoral Nerve Modulates Spinal Synaptic Responses to Axotomy and Enhances Motor Recovery in Rats

Figure 7

Time course and degree of motor recovery after femoral nerve lesion and drug application. Shown are mean values ± SEM of foot-base angle on the operated side (FBA, a), step length ratio (SLR, b), product FBA × SLR (c), and recovery index for the product FBA × SLR (d) prior to injury (0 week) and 1–20 weeks p.o. The dashed horizontal line in (d) is drawn at 100%, a value indicating full degree of recovery. , 8, and 9 for BSA, BDNF, and BoNT, respectively. For all parameters shown, two-way ANOVA for repeated measures showed effects of time (_7,147 = 52.4–209, ) and treatment (_2,21 = 9.51–15.6, ). Indicated by symbols are group mean values significantly different from the corresponding postoperative values of the BSA and BDNF groups and ^# the corresponding value of the BSA group (, Holm-Sidak post hoc procedure).

(a)

(b)

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