Background: Facial nerve (FN) injury is an important health issue worldwide and the most essential principle for all surgeons
is proper diagnosis and early treatment.
Aim of the study: Evaluation of the effect of Cerebrolysin (CBL) versus N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) on FN regeneration.
Materials and Methods: Normal 24 Sprague Dawely adult male rats were selected with a weight range 250 - 300 gm. Crushtype
FN injury was performed on the right side of all rats then, they were randomly divided into three equal groups of eight
rats each. In group I, the rats were left without any treatment and considered as a control. Rats of group II received 50 mg/
kg/day NAC intraperitoneally for a period of 28 days while rats of group III received 2.5 ml/kg/day CBL intraperitoneally
for the same period. Postoperatively, eye-blink reflex was used to evaluate the functional recovery after the 2nd and the 4th
weeks. All animals were euthanized by overdose of diethyl ether after 28 days and nerve regeneration was evaluated based on
histopathological and immunohistochemical (IHC) examinations. All data collected were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0
software. Statistical significance was inferred at a P value ≤ 0.05.
Results: Nerve regeneration was obvious in group III with significant improvement of the eye-blink reflex at 2weeks period that
became non-significant at 4 weeks. Histological and IHC evaluation revealed high regeneration and minimum inflammation in
group III when compared with groups I and II.
Conclusion: CBL enhances nerve regeneration and rehabilitation better than NAC after facial nerve crush injury in rats.