title: Conditioning effect induced by chronic nerve compression. An experimental study of the sciatic and tibial nerves of rats.
abstract: To find out if chronic nerve compression could affect the peripheral nerve by acting as a "conditioning lesion", silicone tubes (internal diameter 0.8-1.6 mm) were placed round the sciatic or tibial nerves of adult rats for different time periods. After the period of compression the tubes were removed and a test crush lesion was made on the sciatic nerve in the thigh. Regeneration distances of the sensory nerve fibres were analysed by the pinch reflex test after a further three or six days. Compression of sciatic or tibial nerves induced a significant increase in outgrowth length compared with nerves subjected to mobilisation and crush lesion alone. All the tubes tested had a conditioning effect, but only tubes with a small internal diameter seemed to induce nerve fibre degeneration as assessed by immunocytochemistry. The results showed that chronic compression induced a regenerative response in the peripheral nerve. The mechanism by which this was accomplished remains obscure but it may involve both the neurons and the non-neuronal cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hand Surgery, Malmö General Hospital, Lund University, Sweden.
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Dahlin
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kanje
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D009408:Nerve Compression Syndromes / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D010525:Peripheral Nerves / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012584:Sciatic Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology; D013979:Tibial Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology