Local administration of Trolox, a vitamin E analog, reduced tendon adhesion in a chicken model of flexor digitorum profundus tendon injury.

Background: Hand flexor tendon injuries are compromised with tendon adhesion. Tendon adhesion forms between flexor tendon and tendon sheath, reduces the range of motion of fingers, and affects their function. Oxidative stress is increased in flexor tendon after injury and might play a role in tendon adhesion formation. Trolox (6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid), a water-soluble analog of vitamin E, is antioxidative. Trolox reduced oxidative stress and the expression of fibrotic cytokines in the bile gut ligation animal model. Vitamin C and Trolox are strong antioxidants, but they might also have prooxidant properties. The prooxidant properties of vitamin C and Trolox are different. In this study, our aim was to determine the effect of Trolox in reducing tendon adhesion formation.

Methods: Flexor digitorum profundus tendon injury was induced in 54 Kai-Mei Chicken according to a well-established protocol. After wound closure, an injection of 50 μL saline, 10mM Trolox, or 100mM Trolox was administered into the wound area. At 2 weeks or 6 weeks after the surgery, chicken feet were harvested for gliding test, high-resolution ultrasound measurement on a fibrotic area, and histology.

Results: At Week 2 after the surgery, Trolox has no effect on the flexion angle and gliding resistance, whereas a significant improvement was observed in the flexion angle and gliding resistance in the Trolox-treated groups at Week 6. However, no dose response was observed. In the ultrasound measurement, there was no significant difference in the fibrotic mass in the Trolox-treated group as compared to the saline group at Week 2. At Week 6, fibrotic mass was significantly reduced in both Trolox-treated groups. From the histological examination, the Trolox-treated groups presented a higher cellularity at Week 2 as compared to the saline group, and reduced fibrosis and adhesion at Week 6.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that local administration of Trolox can reduce tendon adhesion, and a higher dose of Trolox did not have negative effects.

Clinical Significance: Trolox solution might be feasible to reduce tendon adhesion via intraoperative injection at the wound area during tendon repair.