Phrenic nerve transfer is a major dynamic treatment used to repair brachial plexus root avulsion. We analyzed 72 relevant articles on phrenic nerve transfer to repair injured brachial plexus that were indexed by Science Citation Index. The keywords searched were brachial plexus injury, phrenic nerve, repair, surgery, protection, nerve transfer, and nerve graft. In addition, we performed neuroph...

Inhibition of calcium-activated neutral protease, in muscle and nerve, by the tripeptide leupeptin after median nerve transection and epineural repair in monkeys (Cebus apella) was studied. Results indicate that inhibition of the protease after nerve repair facilitates morphologic recovery in denervated thenar muscles and in distal thenar nerve branches. In addition, functional recovery was fac...

Neuritin is a new neurotropic factor implicated in nervous system development and plasticity. Studies have shown that Neuritin is upregulated in injured nerves, suggesting that it is involved in nerve repair. To test this hypothesis, we investigated whether recombinant human Neuritin could restore nerve structure and function in a rat model of sciatic nerve injury. Neuritin treatment had a dose...

Nowadays peripheral nerve injurie occurs more common, the outcome is often poor because of the ineffective treatment. Recent researches revealed the duration of BDNF administration acts a positive role during the nerve regeneration, but its potential mechanisms beneath the behavioral recovery and axonal regrowth after peripheral nerve injury are still controversial. To observe the potential mec...

Neurotmesis must be surgically treated by direct end-to-end suture of the two nerve stumps or by a nerve graft harvested from elsewhere in the body in case of tissue loss. To avoid secondary damage due to harvesting of the nerve graft, a tube-guide can be used to bridge the nerve gap. Previously, our group developed and tested hybrid chitosan membranes for peripheral nerve tubulization and show...

The use of sex hormones as potential neurosteroids capable of enhancing neuronal repair and functional recovery is gaining some momentum in the experimental literature. Two very interesting papers are presented in this issue of Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience outlining the effects of testosterone treatment upon anatomical and functional recovery after sciatic nerve crush injuries. The ar...

Introduction: Benign parotid lesion is rarely associated with facial nerve paralysis. If it happens, it is mainly due to the compression effect on the nerve and usually will recover after surgical intervention. Few cases of parotid abscess which involved facial nerve, mainly in elderly have been reported. Case report: In our case, we would like to report a case of parotid abscess in a young hea...

PURPOSE To prospectively assess the short inversion time inversion-recovery (STIR) magnetic resonance (MR) signal intensity changes of denervated and reinnervated skeletal muscle over time in clinical patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study was approved by the institutional review board, and informed consent was obtained from all patients. Twenty-three patients with complete traumatic tran...

We previously reported that anti-inflammatory treatment with steroids improves recovery outcome in an olfactory nerve injury model. Clinically, however, steroid administration is not recommended in the acute phase of head injury because of concerns regarding side effects and no evidence of its efficacy. Recently, it has been reported that interleukin-6 (IL-6) plays an important role in the infl...

Here, we report on the design of braided peripheral nerve conduits with barrier coatings. Braiding of extruded polymer fibers generates nerve conduits with excellent mechanical properties, high flexibility, and significant kink-resistance. However, braiding also results in variable levels of porosity in the conduit wall, which can lead to the infiltration of fibrous tissue into the interior of ...