Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2014, Vol. 9 ›› Issue (16): 1498-1501.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.139471

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Peripheral nerve lengthening as a regenerative strategy

Kenneth M. Vaz 1, Justin M. Brown 2, Sameer B. Shah 3   

  1. 1 Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
    2 Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
    3 Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
  • Received:2014-06-28 Online:2014-08-22 Published:2014-08-22
  • Contact: Sameer B. Shah, Ph.D., Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Bioengineering, University of California, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0863, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA, sbshah@ucsd.edu.
  • Supported by:

    This work was supported by a grant from Department of Defense (W81XWH-10-1-0773), National Science Foundation (CBET1042522), and a grant from the National Skeletal Muscle Research Center at UCSD.

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Abstract:

Peripheral nerve injury impairs motor, sensory, and autonomic function, incurring substantial financial costs and diminished quality of life. For large nerve gaps, proximal lesions, or chronic nerve injury, the prognosis for recovery is particularly poor, even with autografts, the current gold standard for treating small to moderate nerve gaps. In vivo elongation of intact proximal stumps towards the injured distal stumps of severed peripheral nerves may offer a promising new strategy to treat nerve injury. This review describes several nerve lengthening strategies, including a novel internal fixator device that enables rapid and distal reconnection of proximal and distal nerve stumps.

Key words: peripheral nerve, nerve regeneration, nerve injury, nerve transfer, mechanical loading, biomedical device