J Cell Physiol. 2018 Sep 12. doi: 10.1002/jcp.27299. [Epub ahead of print]

Nerve repair and regeneration: Biological tubulization limits and future perspectives.

Riccio M¹, Marchesini A¹, Pugliese P¹, De Francesco F¹.

Abstract

Peripheral nerve physiology and regeneration has been observed and investigated in literature but surgical applications to reconstruct and restore motor or sensory functions are still in a developmental phase. The peripheral nerve progresses slowly and incompletely compared with other tissues, it may provoke separations of the nerve stumps and the axonal proliferation of the conduits is restricted to 30 mm. Recent surgical attempts to treat proximal nerve injures include direct nerve restoration, transfer, and autografting measures with favorable results. Moreover, studies are suggesting that engineering tissue tubes maybe as effective as nerve grafting to restore separations of more than 4 cm toward optimal nerve repair.