Effect of mouse nerve growth factor on patients with lumbosacral nerve root injury induced by compression after decompression surgery: a prospective study

Objective To explore the effect of mouse nerve growth factor (mNGF) on patients with lumbosacral nerve root injury (LNRI) induced by compression after decompression surgery.Methods A prospective randomized control clinical trail was designed,which included 40 patients diagnosed as having LNRI induced by compression caused by lumbar disc hemiation or lumbar canal stenosis,admitted to our hospital from January 2011 to May 2011; these patients were randomized into therapy group (n=20) and control group (n=20).Patients were performed decompression procedure successfully,and then,accepted the same therapy procedure,excepted that patients in the therapy group accepted mNGF by muscle injection (18 μg per time,once daily for 28 d) additionally.Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scale was employed to evaluate the physical functional status of these patients before treatment,3 months after treatment and at final follow-up,and all adverse events were recorded.Results All patients were followed up for 12-16 months.No significant difference on the JOA scores was noted between the two groups before surgery (P＞0.05); the postoperative JOA scores of both groups were improved significantly as compared with preoperative JOA scores (P＜0.05); In postoperative 3 months,the JOA scores of therapy group were significantly better than the control group (P＜0.05); at final follow-up,the JOA scores of therapy group were better than the control group without significant difference (P＞0.05).All of patients were uneventful after injecting mNGF except that 6 patients felt painful in the injection region.Conclusion The mNGF can accelerate the function rehabilitation of patients with LNRI induced by compression,and it has moderate safety. Key words: Lumbosacral nerve root injury induced by compression;  Mouse nerve growth factor;  Lumbar disc herniation;  Lumbar canal stenosis