Peripheral nerve injury is a common clinical issue induced by trauma, tumor, and damage caused by treatment. Such factors create chemical and inflammatory alterations at the injury site, which increase nerve deterioration. Thus, minimizing these modifications can lead to nerve protection after injury. The present study sought to evaluate the possible improvement in nerve regeneration and enhancement of functional outcomes by cinnamaldehyde (Cin) administration following sciatic nerve crush in a rat model. Rats (n = 48) were distributed into 6 groups, including sham, injury, DMSO (vehicle group), and Cin groups (10, 30, and 90 mg/kg/day). Using small hemostatic forceps, crush injury was induced in the left sciatic nerve. Thereafter, Cin was administered for 28 successive days. Weekly records were taken for sciatic functional index (SFI) measurements. Further assessments including electrophysiological and histomorphometric evaluations, gastrocnemius muscle wet weight measurements, and estimation of the serum total oxidant status were performed. According to the results, Cin could accelerate sciatic nerve recovery after crush injury, and the dose of 30 mg/kg/day of Cin had better impacts on SFI recovery, muscle mass ratio, and myelin content. The current research demonstrated that Cin positively affects peripheral nerve restoration. Therefore, Cin therapy could be considered as a potential treatment method for peripheral nerve regeneration and its functional recovery. However, more investigations are required to further validate the study results and evaluate the optimal dose of Cin.

中文翻译：

---

肉桂醛增强大鼠坐骨神经挤压损伤后的功能恢复


周围神经损伤是由外伤、肿瘤和治疗造成的损伤引起的临床常见问题。这些因素会在损伤部位产生化学和炎症改变，从而加剧神经退化。因此，尽量减少这些修饰可以在损伤后实现神经保护。本研究旨在评估大鼠模型坐骨神经挤压后给予肉桂醛 (Cin) 可能改善神经再生和增强功能结果的可能性。大鼠 (n = 48) 被分为 6 组，包括假手术组、损伤组、DMSO（载体组）和 Cin 组（10、30 和 90 mg/kg/天）。使用小型止血钳，在左侧坐骨神经中造成挤压损伤。此后，连续28天施用Cin。每周记录坐骨功能指数（SFI）测量值。进行了进一步的评估，包括电生理学和组织形态学评估、腓肠肌湿重测量以及血清总氧化剂状态的估计。结果显示，Cin可加速坐骨神经挤压伤后的恢复，且30 mg/kg/天的Cin剂量对SFI恢复、肌肉质量比和髓磷脂含量有较好的影响。目前的研究表明，Cin 对周围神经恢复有积极影响。因此，Cin疗法可被认为是周围神经再生及其功能恢复的潜在治疗方法。然而，还需要更多的研究来进一步验证研究结果并评估Cin的最佳剂量。