Skeletal muscle grafts, when thawed after freezing, can be used to repair peripheral nerves. This method was used after transection of the median nerve in the upper arm in marmosets. Examination at 28 days showed total denervation of flexor carpi radialis; at 150 days electrophysiological evidence of recovery of nerve conduction across the graft and of muscle activation was seen. Sections at th...

Despite advances in surgical techniques for peripheral nerve repair, functional restitution remains incomplete. The timing of surgery is one factor influencing the extent of recovery but it is not yet clearly defined how long a delay may be tolerated before repair becomes futile. In this study, rats underwent sciatic nerve transection before immediate (0) or 1, 3, or 6 months delayed repair wit...

The interposition sural nerve graft has been attempted occasionally during radical prostatectomy for the recovery of continence and erectile function; however, nerve autograft may result in adverse events for the patient. Here, we present our initial experiences using NerbridgeTM, a novel conduit for peripheral nerve regeneration, rather than utilizing sural nerve grafting, in robot-assisted la...

Histocompatibility seems to play an important role in the regeneration of nerve allografts. Compatible tissue typed nerve allografts behave more like autografts and are, therefore, more readily accepted by the host tissue without producing evident tissue rejection. The influence of histocompatibility difference becomes more marked if the graft is longer than 30-40 mm. Irradiation as a means of ...

The long-term outcome of peripheral nerve injury is often unsatisfactory, especially if the injury resulted in a gap between transected nerve stumps. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and its receptor, trkB, are strongly implicated in the early phase of axonal regeneration after injury. We examined the role of trkB in long-term functional and morphological outcome of peripheral nerve injury. Th...