Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42158273›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in neuroscience2026

Manual therapy ameliorates neuromuscular dysfunction in spastic model rat: involvement of the C-Fiber-mediated CaMKII pathway.

Yitian Lai, Hanbo Fan, Li Zeng, Lei Chen, Wu Li, Jiangshan Li, Heng Chen

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in neuroscience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Yitian LaiThe Second Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China.
Hanbo FanCollege of Acupuncture-Moxibustion-Tuina and Rehabilitation, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China.
Li ZengCollege of Acupuncture-Moxibustion-Tuina and Rehabilitation, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China.
Lei ChenCollege of Acupuncture-Moxibustion-Tuina and Rehabilitation, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China.
Wu LiThe Second Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China.
Jiangshan LiThe Second Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China.
Heng ChenThe Second Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: This study investigated whether manual therapy applied to tendon organs ameliorated neuromuscular dysfunction in rats with spasticity induced by upper motor neuron injury associated with spastic cerebral palsy, and analyzed the potential involvement of the C-fiber-mediated CaMKII signaling pathway. Methods: Male rats were used to establish palsy models and divided into groups: Control, Model, Manual Therapy (MT), Capsaicin Treatment, Sham, CaMKII Inhibitor, and DMSO Solvent groups. Except for Control, all underwent pyramidal-tract destruction. After modeling, the MT group received manual therapy on the left-lower leg tendon organs. The Capsaicin group underwent sciatic nerve capsaicin treatment for C-fiber block on days 2 and 7; the Sham group had sciatic nerve exposure only. Both received daily manual therapy intervention for 14 days. The CaMKII Inhibitor and DMSO Solvent groups received intrathecal injections every 2 days (7 times total) without manual intervention. Spasticity-related behavioral indices, molecular expression, and neurotransmitter levels were assessed. Results: Manual therapy reduced the neurological deficit scores and muscle spasticity scores of model rats, improved the pathological morphology of the pyramidal tract and skeletal muscle, and regulated the expression of key molecules and neurotransmitters in the spinal cord and hippocampus. The therapeutic effects of manual therapy were significantly attenuated after C-fiber blockage, and although CaMKII inhibition could partially mimic the neuromodulatory effects of manual therapy, its efficacy in alleviating spasticity was inferior to that of manual-therapy intervention. Conclusion: Manual therapy appears to regulate CaMKII signaling via C-fiber afferent pathways to ameliorate neuromuscular dysfunction in a rat model of spasticity induced by pyramidal-tract lesion, thereby providing experimental evidence for the clinical application of optimized manual therapy parameters in the management of spasticity in patients with cerebral palsy.

Indexed as

cerebral palsyC-fibermanual therapyspasticitysynaptic plasticity

Identifiers

PMID42158273
PMCPMC13180889

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