Damage to peripheral nerve tissue may cause loss of function in both the nerve and the targeted muscles it innervates. This study compared the repair capability of engineered nerve conduit (ENC), engineered fibroblast conduit (EFC), and autograft in a 10-mm tibial nerve gap. ENCs were fabricated utilizing primary fibroblasts and the nerve cells of rats on embryonic day 15 (E15). EFCs were fabri...

Our previous findings confirmed that the nerve growth factor-containing fibrin glue membrane provides a good microenvironment for peripheral nerve regeneration; however, the precise mechanism remains unclear. p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75(NTR)) plays an important role in the regulation of peripheral nerve regeneration. We hypothesized that a nerve growth factor-containing fibrin glue membrane ...

Novel approaches attempt to provide an alternative to autologous nerve graft. Nerve guidance conduit (NGC) have been designed to bridge the gap and provides guidance for sprouting axon and provide a place for diffusion of neurotropic factors and endogenous/transplanted cells at the lesion site [2]. It is believed that an ideal nerve conduit should provide not only structural support for damaged...

In this study, we fabricated glial cell-line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF)-loaded microspheres, then seeded the microspheres in gelatin-methacrylamide hydrogel, which was finally integrated with the commercial bilayer collagen membrane (Bio-Gide(®)). The novel composite of nerve conduit was employed to bridge a 10 mm long sciatic nerve defect in a rat. GDNF-loaded gelatin microspheres had ...

INTRODUCTION Often, when one experiences trauma or undergoes an invasive surgery, peripheral nerve damage results. Each year 360,000 people in the United States suffer from peripheral nerve injury [1]. Peripheral nerve injury can result in a loss of sensory and or motor function and will often lead to long-term disability in patients [2]. When a peripheral nerve is compressed or severed, the in...

Motor nerves and sensory nerves conduct signals in different directions and function in different ways. In the surgical treatment of peripheral nerve injuries, the best prognosis is obtained by keeping the motor and sensory nerves separated and repairing the nerves using the suture method. However, the clinical consequences of connections between sensory and motor nerves currently remain unknow...

This study aimed to observe the morphological characteristics of a PGLA [poly(glycolide-co-L-lactide)] nerve conduit and regenerated nerve bundle in the human body using high-frequency ultrasound and examine functional recovery of the regenerated nerve using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) after neural prosthesis with a PGLA nerve conduit. Thirty-nine patients underwent high-freque...

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...