%0 Journal Article
%T Functional recovery after implantation of artificial nerve grafts in the rat- a systematic review
%A Nektarios Sinis
%A Armin Kraus
%A Nikolaos Tselis
%A Max Haerle
%A Frank Werdin
%A Hans-Eberhard Schaller
%J Journal of Brachial Plexus and Peripheral Nerve Injury
%D 2009
%I Thieme Medical Publishers
%R 10.1186/1749-7221-4-19
%X A systematic review was conducted, searching MEDLINE, HTS and CENTRAL to identify all trials evaluating functional recovery of artificial nerve conduits in the rat model.There was a trend towards a favourable outcome of conduits coated with Schwann-cells compared to the plain synthetics. Histomorphometry, electrophysiology and muscle-weight correlated poorly with functional outcome.Schwann-cell coated conduits showed promising results concerning functional recovery. Further standardization in outcome reporting is encouraged.Peripheral nerve injury is common in trauma patients, since, 4.5% of all soft-tissue injuries are accompanied by defects of peripheral nerves [1]. The first attempts in repairing peripheral nerve injuries were made in the 17th century [2]. In the 19th century, various options for the surgical management of peripheral nerve injuries were under debate, such as stretching the nerve, mobilizing the nerve by joint flexion or bone shortening or bridging the defect with various organic or synthetic materials [3]. In the late 20th century, it became clear that tension across a nerve repair site negatively affects regeneration which led to preference of nerve grafting over manipulating procedures [4]. Despite the well-known benefits of nerve grafting, donor site morbidity must be taken into consideration. To solve this problem, artificial nerve conduits are in evaluation, mainly in animal models. However, the most cost sparing animal model to start with remains the rat. Herein, different nerves (i.e. median nerve, sciatic nerve, facial nerve, etc.) were used in the past to demonstrate the efficacy of numerous materials and concepts (resorbable vs. non-resorbable, cellular vs. acellular, etc.). This plenty of different experimental studies in the rat were conducted with different techniques, materials, and aims making a direct comparison of the data very difficult. The aim of this study was to quantitatively compare these different materials applied in the
%U http://www.jbppni.com/content/4/1/19