Effects of electrical stimulation therapy on the blood flow in chronic critical limb ischemia patients following regenerative therapy

Abstract

Objectives: We investigated the effects of electrical stimulation therapy on cutaneous and muscle blood flow in critical limb ischemia patients following regenerative therapy. Methods: Three groups were studied: 10 healthy young subjects, 10 elderly subjects, and 7 critical limb ischemia patients after regenerative therapy. After 5 min rest, electrical stimulation was applied at 5 Hz on the tibialis anterior muscle for 10 min. We estimated the relative changes in oxyhemoglobin and total hemoglobin compared to the basal values at rest (Δ[HbO 2 ], Δ[Hb tot ]), which reflected the blood flow in the skin and muscle layer, and we simultaneously measured the tissue O 2 saturation (S t O 2 ) throughout the electrical stimulation and recovery phase by near-infrared spectroscopy. Results: The Δ[HbO 2 ] and Δ[Hb tot ] values of the muscle layer in critical limb ischemia patients increased gradually and remained significantly higher at the 5-min and 10-min recovery periods after the electrical stimulation without reducing the S t O 2 , but there is no significant change in the other two groups. Skin blood flow was not influenced by electrical stimulation in three groups. Conclusion: This improvement of the peripheral circulation by electrical stimulation would be beneficial as the adjunctive therapy after regenerative cell therapy.