Damage to the peripheral nervous system is surprisingly common and occurs primarily from trauma or a complication of surgery. Although recovery of nerve function occurs in many mild injuries, outcomes are often unsatisfactory following severe trauma. Nerve repair and regeneration presents unique clinical challenges and opportunities, and substantial contributions can be made through the informe...

The cellular prion protein (PrP) is essential to the long-term maintenance of myelin sheaths in peripheral nerves. PrP activates adhesion G-protein coupled receptor Adgrg6 on Schwann cells and initiates a pro-myelination cascade molecular signals. Because crucial for development regeneration after nerve injury, we investigated role repair. We performed experimental sciatic crush injuries co-iso...

Remodeling of extracellular matrix (ECM) is a critical step in peripheral nerve regeneration. In fact, in human neuropathies, endoneurial ECM enriched in fibrin and vitronectin associates with poor regeneration and worse clinical prognosis. Accordingly in animal models, modification of the fibrinolytic complex activity has profound effects on nerve regeneration: high fibrinolytic activity and l...

Peripheral nerve regeneration presents a significant clinical challenge and the current state of the art using autografts to repair long peripheral nerve gaps is unsatisfactory. In this manuscript, the analytical framework that determines the fate of grafts (autografts or biomaterial-based grafts) is discussed. Also outlined are parameters and variables that might be manipulated to enhance the ...

A new combination of tissue engineering techniques provides a simple and effective method for building aligned cellular biomaterials. Self-alignment of Schwann cells within a tethered type-1 collagen matrix, followed by removal of interstitial fluid produces a stable tissue-like biomaterial that recreates the aligned cellular and extracellular matrix architecture associated with nerve grafts. S...

Peripheral nerve injury is a worldwide clinical problem which could lead to loss of neuronal communication along sensory and motor nerves between the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral organs and impairs the quality of life of a patient. The primary requirement for the treatment of complete lesions is a tension-free, end-to-end repair. When end-to-end repair is not possible, periph...

objective: to assess the effect of combination of pulsed electromagnetic fields (pemf) with predatory stress on transected sciatic nerve regeneration in rats.  methods: in sham- operated group (sog) the nerve was manipulated and left intact. the 10-mm rat sciatic nerve gap was created in rats. in transected group (transected) nerve stumps were sutured to adjacent muscle and in vein graft group ...

A nerve gap is defined as the distance between two ends of a divided nerve. It is caused not just by the nerve tissue lost due to the trauma, or to the following debridement, but also by the actual retraction of the nerve stumps. The retraction is due to the elastic properties of the nerve fibers. Only small nerve gaps, in which minimal tension is required to contrast the elastic properties of ...

Surgery of the peripheral nerves is briefly reviewed with special emphasis on the timing and the techniques of nerve repair. The sooner a severed nerve can be repaired, the better the quality of the recovery. While delays of a few months after injury appear to have no serious effect on the out come of nerve sutures, the chances of successful recovery decline after six months. It is not common f...