Bridging critical nerve defects through an acellular homograft seeded with autologous schwann cells obtained from a regeneration neuroma of the proximal stump.

Over the last decade, several models have investigated the usefulness of different biologic and/or synthetic matrices as alternatives to conventional nerve grafts. Still, axonal regeneration did not occur over longer (> 3 cm) distances. One problem may be that a growth-promoting environment not only includes physical cues but also a rich spectrum of different growth factors only provided by reactive Schwann cells.

Changes in spinal cord architecture after brachial plexus injury in the newborn.

Obstetric brachial plexus palsy is a devastating birth injury. While many children recover spontaneously, 20-25% are left with a permanent impairment of the affected limb. So far, concepts of pathology and recovery have focused on the injury of the peripheral nerve.

The influence of GDNF on the timecourse and extent of motoneuron loss in the cervical spinal cord after brachial plexus injury in the neonate.

Injuries of the peripheral nerve in the early post-natal period are known to cause massive loss in the motoneuron pools of the spinal cord. However, the exact time frame and extent of motoneuron death in the cervical spinal cord after a brachial plexus lesion and the altered course after neuroprotection with different trophic factors is not known. In the present study, the time course of induced motoneuron death after a neonatal peripheral nerve injury and the effect of GDNF was investigated over a 4 week time period to determine the window of opportunity for possible therapeutic interventions in obstetrical plexus palsy.

Neuroma prevention by end-to-side neurorraphy: an experimental study in rats.

Purpose: The successful treatment of painful neuromas remains a difficult goal to attain. In this report we explore the feasibility of neuroma prevention by insertion of the proximal end of a nerve through an end-to-side neurorraphy into an adjacent mixed nerve to provide a pathway and target for axons deprived of their end organ.

Methods: Experiments were performed on a total of twenty 250-g Sprague-Dawley rats.

Whole blood viscosity, plasma viscosity and erythrocyte aggregation in nine mammalian species: reference values and comparison of data.

In this study species-specific values for whole blood viscosity (WBV), plasma viscosity (PV) and erythrocyte aggregation (EA) were determined in a total of 360 animals. We used 40 individual adult animals of nine mammalian species: horse, pig, dog, cat, rat, cattle, sheep, rabbit and mouse. WBV measurements were carried out using a LS30 viscometer, PV was measured using OCR-D and EA was measured using a Myrenne aggregometer and the LS30 (aggregation index at low shear rate).