Therapeutic effect of Vitamin C on electroporation mediated muscle injury in vivo

High voltage electrical shock can produce extensive muscle and nerve tissue damage due to thermal denaturation of proteins and poration of cell membranes by electric field gradients. To study the therapeutic effect of Vitamin C on the neurophysiologic performance of motor nerves following electrical injury, the authors used an in vivo model exposing an anesthetized rat's hindlimb to thermally neutral electrical shocks. The applied pulsed electrical fields had a strength of approximately 150 V/cm. A standard EMG test was used to monitor the damage and recovery of the motor nerve function. Intravenously administered Vitamin C at concentrations of 5.8 mg/kg and 340 mg/kg showed a dose-dependent, statistically significant improvement in the recovery of the muscle action potential amplitude.