Development of a Rabbit Model of Radiation-Induced Sciatic Nerve Injury: In Vivo Evaluation Using T_2 Relaxation Time Measurements

摘要

Stereotactic body radiotherapy has become a widely adopted treatment approach in recent decades. Treatment with high doses of radiation per fraction, administered as single fraction, or hypofractionated, is used more and more widely, especially for malignant tumors of the lung, liver, and spine. However, there is always a concern of radiation-induced injury to normal tissues, such as the peripheral nerves. Radiation-induced peripheral neuropathy is an irreversible and progressive complication leading to pain, numbness, or motor nerve weakness. With the combined application of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, the survival time of patients with a tumor is prolonged, and the incidence of radiation-induced peripheral nerve injury (RIPNI) has been increasing gradually, which has aroused the attention of clinicians. The exact pathophysiology underlying the development of radiation-induced peripheral neuropathy is not yet fully understood; thus, quite a few animal experiments devoted to solving this problem have been conducted.