THe role of autologous nerve fragments implantation in enhancing peripheral nerve regeneration

ntroduction: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of seeding a nerve suture with autologous nerve fragments. Our hypothesis is that the fragments could improve axonal regeneration. Back to Top | Article Outline Material and Methods: On 20 Sprague-Dawley rats a 15mm sciatic nerve defect was created and grafted. In the study group (n=10) a 1mm nerve segment was minced and seeded around the distal suture. In the control group (n=10) no fragments were seeded. Rats were sacrificed at 4 (n= 10) and 12 weeks (n= 10) and number of regenerated fibers, fiber area and density, Soleus and Gastrocnemius muscles mass indexes, and walking track analysis in the 12 weeks group were evaluated. The Student ttest was used for statistically analysis. Back to Top | Article Outline Results: A significantly (p= 0,042 and 0.032) higher number of regenerated axons (235 vs 160 and 378 vs 306) and fiber area (561 µm2 vs 405 µm2 and 883 µm2 vs 661 µm2, p= 0,043 and 0.033) were found in the study group both at 4 and 12 weeks. The Soleus muscle weight ratio at 12 weeks was significantly higher than in the control group (0,72 vs 0,40, p= 0.0207). Differences in Grastrocnemius muscle weight ratio and walking track analysis were not significant. Back to Top | Article Outline Conclusion: Our results show that nerve fragments seeded around the distal nerve suture increase the number of regenerated axons, the fiber area and the Soleus mass index.