endometriosis is a common gynaecological disease that can cause severe pelvic pain such as dysmenorrhoea and dyspareunia, however the mechanisms by which pain is generated are not well understood. nerve fibres in endometriotic plaques have been reported by several authors. we have recently demonstrated the presence of unmyelinated sensory nerve fibres (using the pan-neuronal marker pgp9.5) in t...

This study concerns the retinotopic organization of the ganglion cell fibres in the visual system of the frog Xenopus laevis. HRP was used to trace the pathways taken by fibres from discrete retinal positions as they pass from the retina, along the optic nerve and into the chiasma. The ganglion cell fibres in the retina are arranged in fascicles which correspond with their circumferential posit...

The distribution of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-, neuropeptide Y-, and calcitonin gene-related peptide-immunoreactive nerve fibres was investigated in the atrioventricular valves of the rat. These nerve fibres were visualized by immunostaining of whole-mount preparations by the avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex method. Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide-immunoreactive nerve fibres were obse...

After peripheral nerve injury, nociceptive afferents acquire an abnormal excitability to adrenergic agents, possibly due to an enhanced expression of α1-adrenoceptors (α1-ARs) on these nerve fibres. To investigate this in the present study, changes in α1-AR expression on nerve fibres in the skin and sciatic nerve trunk were assessed using immunohistochemistry in an animal model of neuropathic p...

The localization and distribution of the adrenergic and acetylcholinesterase (AChE)positive nerve fibres innervating the spleen was studied in pheasant by using histochemical methods. Both visualized nerve fibres entered the pheasant spleen at its hilum in the vicinity of the splenic artery branches and they were gradually distributed into the parenchyma along large arterial branches. The great...

Neuropeptide tyrosine (NPY), a newly discovered peptide known to modulate blood vessel diameter and smooth muscle tone, has been found in many mammalian organs. Its distribution is similar to that of sympathetic nerve fibres and NPY immunoreactivity has been found in noradrenergic ganglion cells. In a study of the respiratory tract of four mammalian species--man, cat, guinea pig, and rat--NPY i...

Defects of peripheral nerves still represent a challenge for surgical nerve reconstruction. Recent studies concentrated on replacement by artificial nerve conduits from different synthetic or biological materials. In our study, we describe for the first time the use of spider silk fibres as a new material in nerve tissue engineering. Schwann cells (SC) were cultivated on spider silk fibres. Cel...

Atrophy of the nerve fibres in the retina visible by direct ophthalmoscopy using red-free illumination, together with corresponding scotomata in the visual fields, signified retrograde degeneration of retinal nerve fibres from multiple sclerosis. Defects in medullated retinal nerve fibres were continous with arcuate nerve fibre bundle defects. These myelin defects exemplify secondary demyelinat...

We have compared the density of nerve fibres in the synovium in club foot with that of specimens obtained from the synovium of the hip at operations for developmental dysplasia. The study focused on the sensory neuropeptides substance P; calcitonin gene-related peptide; protein gene product 9.5, a general marker for mature peripheral nerve fibres; and growth associated protein 43, a neuronal ma...

INTRODUCTION Restoring elbow flexion remains the first step in the management of total palsy of the brachial plexus. Non avulsed upper roots may be grafted on the musculocutaneous nerve. When this nerve is entirely grafted, some motor fibres regenerate within the sensory fibres quota. Aiming potential utilization of these lost motor fibres, we attempted suturing the sensory branch of the muscul...