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Conduction Properties in Peripheral Nerve Fibers Regenerated by Biodegradable Polymer Matrix

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2011

Albert S. Chang
Affiliation:
Fibers and Polymers Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA 02139
Ioannis V. Yannas
Affiliation:
Fibers and Polymers Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA 02139
Christian Krarup
Affiliation:
Division of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston MA 02115
Rajesh Sethi
Affiliation:
Division of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston MA 02115
Thor V. Norregaard
Affiliation:
Department of Surgery, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL 60612
Nicholas T. Zervas
Affiliation:
Division of Neurosurgery, Mass. General Hospital, Boston MA 02114
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Abstract

The rat sciatic nerve was transected mid-thigh and grafted with a silicone tube, the central 10 mm of which was filled with a collagen-glycosaminoglycan (CG) matrix. The rats were grafted contralaterally with empty silicone tubes as controls. The earliest compound muscle action potentials (CMAP's) at the plantar muscles were recorded around 11 weeks. After 30 weeks, the distal motor latencies recovered to about 50% higher than normal, the conduction velocity to about 50% normal, and the amplitudes of the CMAP's to about 50% normal. Of 7 rats in this study, all 7 nerves grafted with the CG matrix exhibited recovery, while only 1 grafted with the empty tube exhibited recovery. The CG matrix therefore appears to promote functional nerve regeneration across extended distances.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1988

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