title: Early nerve repair after injury to the postganglionic plexus: an experimental study of sensory and motor neuronal survival in adult rats.
abstract: The optimal time for brachial plexus nerve repair is debatable. In this study we examined whether early re-establishment of neurotrophic support from the periphery might reduce neuronal loss. In 14 adult rats, the C7 spinal nerve was transsected. All sensory cells of the dorsal root ganglion and spinal motor neurons projecting into the C7 nerve were labelled retrogradely. The proximal and distal portions of the C7 nerve were then reanastomosed by either primary repair or by a vascularised or conventional ulnar nerve graft. At 16 weeks postoperatively, the nerve repair had significantly reduced the loss of both sensory and motor C7 neurons. Most striking was that a 30% motor neuronal loss in the control was almost eliminated by early nerve repair. In the grafted animals, half of the surviving neurons had regenerated through the graft, with no difference between vascularised and conventional nerve grafts. These results suggest that early surgical intervention may promote neuronal survival and regeneration after injuries to the brachial plexus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical and Perioperative Science, Section for Hand and Plastic Surgery, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Jianjun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Lev N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Novikov
authors.forename: Jan-Olof
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Kellerth
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wiberg
mesh_terms: D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical; D000818:Animals; D001917:Brachial Plexus / Q000293:injuries*; D016923:Cell Death; D002470:Cell Survival; D005260:Female; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000166:cytology; D016067:Nerve Transfer; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000166:cytology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures; D014459:Ulnar Nerve / Q000637:transplantation