Misdirection of axons after nerve injury impairs successful regeneration of adult neurons. Investigations of axon guidance in development have provided an understanding of pathfinding, but their relevance to regenerating adult axons is unclear. We investigated adult mammalian axon guidance during regeneration after peripheral nerve injury and focused on the effects of the prototypic guidance mo...

Nerve guidance conduits (NGCs) are used as an alternative to the “gold standard” nerve autografting, preventing need for surgical intervention required harvest autologous nerves. However, regeneration outcomes achieved with current NGCs only comparable autografting when gap is short (less than 10 mm). In present study, we have developed made from a blend of polyhydroxyalkanoates, family natural...

Previous genetic studies of intersegmental nerve b development have identified several cell-surface proteins required for correct axon guidance to appropriate target muscles. Here we provide evidence that the small GTPase Drac1 also plays a key role in this guidance process. Neuronal expression of the dominant negative mutation Drac1(N17) causes axons to bypass and extend beyond normal synaptic...

OBJECTIVE As effectiveness of the autologous graft in the repair of long nerve defects is very limited an effective substitute is needed. This study was conducted to determine the poled polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) tube as an alternative to nerve autograft. MATERIALS AND METHODS The left sciatic nerve was transected in 45 male Wistar rats. The animals were then divided randomly into three g...

Peripheral nerve catheters are beneficial for continuous pain relief following surgery or trauma to an extremity. However, spring-loaded peripheral nerve catheters can become uncoiled and entrapped, resulting in difficulty in catheter removal. We present two cases where ultrasound guidance provided significant assistance in the safe removal of entrapped peripheral nerve catheters without neurol...

The current microsurgical gold standard for repairing long gap nerve injuries is the autograft. Autograft provides a protective environment for repair and a natural internal architecture, which is essential for regeneration. Current clinically approved hollow nerve guidance conduits allow provision of this protective environment; however they fail to provide an essential internal architecture t...

Nerve conduits containing highly aligned architecture that mimics native tissues are essential for efficient regeneration of nerve injuries. In this study, a biodegradable nerve conduit was constructed by converting a porous micropatterned film (PHBV-P(L-D,L)LA-PLGA) into a tube wrapping aligned electrospun fibers (PHBV-PLGA). The polymers were chosen so that the protective tube would erode slo...

The intricate connections of the nervous system are established, in part, by elongating axonal fibers that are directed by complex guidance systems to home in on their specific targets. The growth cone, the major motile apparatus at the tip of axons, explores its surroundings and steers the axon along a defined path to its appropriate target. Significant progress has been made in identifying th...