Repair of Long Peripheral Nerve Defects in Sheep

Despite advances in microsurgery, full functional recovery of severe peripheral nerve injuries is not commonly attained. The sheep appears as a good preclinical model since it presents nerves with similar characteristics to humans. In this study, we induced 5 or 7 cm resection in the peroneal nerve...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Contreras, Estefania|||0000-0002-8645-2790, Traserra Call, Sara, Bolívar Martín, Sara|||0000-0003-2966-6845, Forés, Joaquím, José Cunilleras, Eduard|||0000-0002-4536-7717, Delgado Martínez, Ignacio|||0000-0003-1616-8943, García Arnas, Félix|||0000-0001-6651-3173, Udina i Bonet, Esther|||0000-0003-1954-8562, Navarro, X. (Xavier)|||0000-0001-9849-902X
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:270877
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/270877
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.3390/ijms24021333
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Large animal model
Long gap
Nerve injury
Nerve regeneration
Sheep
Descripción
Sumario:Despite advances in microsurgery, full functional recovery of severe peripheral nerve injuries is not commonly attained. The sheep appears as a good preclinical model since it presents nerves with similar characteristics to humans. In this study, we induced 5 or 7 cm resection in the peroneal nerve and repaired with an autograft. Functional evaluation was performed monthly. Electromyographic and ultrasound tests were performed at 6.5 and 9 months postoperation (mpo). No significant differences were found between groups with respect to functional tests, although slow improvements were seen from 5 mpo. Electrophysiological tests showed compound muscle action potentials (CMAP) of small amplitude at 6.5 mpo that increased at 9 mpo, although they were significantly lower than the contralateral side. Ultrasound tests showed significantly reduced size of tibialis anterior (TA) muscle at 6.5 mpo and partially recovered size at 9 mpo. Histological evaluation of the grafts showed good axonal regeneration in all except one sheep from autograft 7 cm (AG7) group, while distal to the graft there was a higher number of axons than in control nerves. The results indicate that sheep nerve repair is a useful model for investigating long-gap peripheral nerve injuries.