title: Experimental studies on peripheral nerve regeneration enhanced by nerve growth factor.
abstract: The effect of exogenous nerve growth factor (NGF) examined on the neural repair of adult rabbit sciatic nerve was evaluated in the present study. A nerve regeneration chamber was created by suturing the proximal and distal ends of a transected sciatic nerve into a silicone chamber. A gap of 6 mm in chamber was left after removal of a 3 mm piece of nerve in the distal ends and insertion of the proximal and distal stumps into the chamber. Animals were operated on bilaterally, one side of the chamber was filled with a 1 mg/ml NGF/normal saline (NS) (experimental) and the contralateral side with NS (control). The regenerated nerves from within the silicone chamber were dissected and fixed 1 to 5 weeks following surgery for histological studies at both the light microscopic and ultrastructural levels. The NGF chamber showed a more mature regenerated nerve based on a larger diameter of the regenerated nerve trunk, a great number of axons, and thicker myelin sheaths.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Tongji Hospital, Tongi Medical University, Wuhan.
authors.forename: Q J
authors.initials: QJ
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.forename: Y X
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Y G
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Z F
authors.initials: ZF
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: T Z
authors.initials: TZ
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: W R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Q W
authors.initials: QW
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D015194:Diffusion Chambers, Culture; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000187:drug effects*; D011817:Rabbits; D012584:Sciatic Nerve / Q000293:injuries / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D009414:Nerve Growth Factors