Nerve-derived neural crest cells are essential for regeneration in certain animals, such as newts. Here, we asked whether they play a similar role during mammalian tissue repair, focusing on Sox2-positive neural crest precursors in skin. In adult skin, Sox2 was expressed in nerve-terminal-associated neural crest precursor cells (NCPCs) around the hair follicle bulge, and following injury was in...

There is a need for complementary surgical techniques that enable rapid and reliable primary repair of transected nerves. Previous studies after peripheral nerve transection and repair with synthetic adhesives have demonstrated regeneration to an extent comparable to that of conventional techniques. The aim of this study was to compare two different repair techniques on the selectivity of muscl...

Motoneurons reinnervate the distal stump at variable rates after peripheral nerve transection and suture. In the rat femoral nerve model, reinnervation is already substantial 3 weeks after repair, but is not completed for an additional 7 weeks. However, this "staggered regeneration" can be temporally compressed by application of 20 Hz electrical stimulation to the nerve for 1 hr. The present ex...

Good clinical outcome after digital nerve repair is highly relevant for proper hand function and has a significant socioeconomic impact. However, level of evidence for competing surgical techniques is low. The aim is to summarize and compare the outcomes of digital nerve repair with different methods (end-to-end and end-to-side coaptations, nerve grafts, artificial conduit-, vein-, muscle, and ...

BACKGROUND Sciatic nerve injuries often cause partial or total loss of motor, sensory and autonomic functions due to the axon discontinuity, degeneration, and eventual death which finally result in substantial functional loss and decreased quality of life. Nerve growth factor (NGF) plays a critical role in peripheral nerve regeneration. However, the lack of efficient NGF delivery approach limit...

OBJECTIVE To identify the nerves in the groin during inguinal hernia repair by inguinotomy. METHODS We conducted a prospective, sequenced, non-randomized study comprising 38 patients undergoing inguinal hernia repair with placement of polypropylene mesh. RESULTS The male patients were 36 (94.7%), with a mean age and standard deviation of 43.1 ± 14.5, body mass index of 24.4 ± 2.8. Comorbidi...

Peripheral nerve injury may result in injury without gaps or injury with gaps between nerve stumps. In the presence of a nerve defect, the placement of an autologous nerve graft is the current gold standard for nerve restoration. The clinical employment of tubes as an alternative to autogenous nerve grafts is mainly justified by the limited availability of donor tissue for nerve autografts and ...

Electrical stimulation has been shown to accelerate and enhance nerve regeneration in sensory and motor neurons after injury, but there is little evidence that focuses on the varying degrees of fibrosis in the delayed repair of peripheral nerve tissue. In this study, a rat model of sciatic nerve transection injury was repaired with a biodegradable conduit at 1 day, 1 week, 1 month and 2 months ...

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS Repair of the transected facial nerve has traditionally been accomplished with microsurgical neurorrhaphy; however, fibrin adhesive coaptation (FAC) of peripheral nerves has become increasingly popular over the past decade. We compared functional recovery following suture neurorrhaphy to FAC in a rodent facial nerve model. STUDY DESIGN Prospective, randomized animal stud...

Peripheral nerve trauma triggers a well characterised sequence of events both proximal and distal to the site of injury. Axons distal to the injury degenerate, Schwann cells convert to a repair supportive phenotype and macrophages enter the nerve to clear myelin and axonal debris. Following these events, axons must regrow through the distal part of the nerve, re-innervate and finally are re-mye...